Choices
by random-fruitcake04
Summary: Ron has the ability to see the future and he has the choice to either let it happen or change it for the better. Not Powerful!Ron. Pairings undecided as of the moment. Latest chapter now uploaded! Please read and review!
1. Introduction

Er – hi. My name is Ron Weasley – alright, it's actually Ronald Bilius Weasley. I don't know what my parents were thinking to give me that as a second name so don't bother asking (not that I hate late Uncle Bilius) – and I have a secret no else in the family knows. Yeah, I know I sound mysterious or something along the lines but seriously, I do have a secret and it's a bloody miracle that none of my family knew about this or I don't know what on Merlin's wrinkly arse I'm going to do.

Well, my secret is that I can see the future, just glimpses of it, through physical contact although it doesn't happen all the time or that would've been a bother. Another thing to note though is that I can see the future of others, not mine. Shame but it can't be helped.

How on Merlin's wet socks I got this ability? I'm not very sure but if I think about it, it showed up months after I had the Magic-Flu. No, it's not like the flu that the Muggles get, it affects the magic of the person. Mum said that it only occurs to children under twelve so it's unlikely someone will get it beyond that age. Anyway, I had one even I was eight years old. I kept blowing up some stuff back then and the worst was that I was able to demolish my whole bedroom room after a week of being sick.

So moving on, I realized I have this gift – yeah, that's what I'm calling it – when I had a vision about my older brother Bill – he's the eldest, by the way – that he took the Curse Breaker job at Gringotts after graduation, and after almost a year an a half (long, I know), it happened. Since then, I write down every single future flashes I get in a journal (which I asked dad to buy me one and he didn't question it, thank Merlin), even the ones I had earlier (it's a miracle I remembered most of them; I have a tendency to be forgetful).

Now I think about it, writing calms me down even when I have those visions about – er – gory and violent ones. I'm not going to write it down again, mind you.

Honestly, I don't know why I'm writing this. It's like I'm introducing a story. I must be going mental. I should really stop now anyway because tomorrow is September one so I have to sleep early. I'm on my first year at Hogwarts and I'm hoping to get in Gryffindor like the rest of my family who are all in Gryffindor – okay, there's still Ginny who's younger than I am but I'm going this year.

I'm sure I'm going to end up in Gryffindor. Imagine me being sorted to Slytherin, that'll be a nightmare.

* * *

><p><em><strong>This is going to be another Ron-centric and it's something that I've been wanting to play with for a while now. Whenever Ron says something he jokes about, it happens. There are some instances in the books and it has given me an idea. <strong>_

_**No, he's not going to be Super or Powerful!Ron like Super or Powerful!Harry that I've read (I believe I read around six to seven stories about Harry having uber many and powerful abilities to the point that it's so unbelievable in many aspects). Ron only has this ability and he'll have to utilize it one way or another. He's still Ron – the loud, stubborn, sometimes rude, lackadaisical, judgmental, hot-tempered, insecure, emotional size of a teaspoon character we all love and know. But he'll be different at the same time so yeah.  
><strong>_

_**I'll say something else in the next chapter because this is getting long. Oh before you leave this page, I'm asking if there's anyone who's willing enough to become the **__**beta-reader**__** of this story. English is not my first language to be honest.**_


	2. Chapter 1

"Oi Ron, wake up!" hollered a boy of thirteen, yanking the blankets off.

"Go away," grumbled another boy, lying on the bed and still under the blankets, with his face covered by a pillow, gripping the blanket from being pulled from him. 'Gimme ten more minutes,' he said against the pillow, his voice muffled.

"Got a problem, Fred oh brother of mine?" a voice drifted from the entrance. The door swung open and another boy stepped inside the room and stood beside his twin brother.

"Yep George," nodded the twin, grinning widely. The twins gave each other a look as if speaking to one another and the boy on the bed was already on the floor, groaning in pain. "Now that you're fully awake, you better hurry up and fix yourself," he said to him.

"We're going to leave in about forty-five minutes," continued the other twin.

"What? You should've woken me up earlier!" shouted the boy named Ron at his twin older brothers. He scrambled to his feet, dashed out of the room and went straight inside the bathroom. It didn't take long for him to clean himself and dress up.

"About time you came down," said the mother, gesturing an empty clean plate on the table. "Hurry up, we're going to be late."

"Yes Mum," muttered Ron as he sat down and piled food on his plate. After he had his second helpings of breakfast (Ron, as his brother put it, had an endless pit of a stomach), his mother told him to brush his teeth so the young redhead boy did as he was told.

When the clock struck eight minutes before ten in the morning, everyone was stationed near the fireplace at the living room. "Has everyone packed their belongings?" the mother asked her children.

"Ron almost forgot to bring Scabbers," said a tall boy with curly red hair and horn-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He was holding a fat black rat whose fur had receded on some parts, particularly on the head. He gave it to Ron who accepted it without complaint.

"Oh right, thanks Percy," said Ron, holding the rat gingerly in his hand but moments after, he was seeing a different scene; a man with watery blue eyes, a pointy nose with one of his hands losing a finger cowered on the floor while other occupant stood around him. He looked at everyone, breathing fast and shallow. Ron saw the short man's eyes dart to the door and back to the man who was wearing shabby-looking robes.

_"Well, hello, Peter," said a sandy-haired man conversationally. "Long time, no see."_

_"S—Sirius… R—Remus…" said the short cowering man, voice squeaky and raspy. His eyes darted toward the door and to the man again as if wanting to escape. "My friends… my old friends…"_

The young redhead shook his head hastily and stared at the rat incredulously. "What the-?" His mind began turning. _What the heck is that about? _Ron didn't have much time to dwell as his three older brothers vanished from the fireplace. He took a pinch of powder from the flowerpot his mother was holding out for him, threw it in the fireplace before stepping inside along with his trunk and Scabbers, and shouted, "Diagon Alley!" Emerald green flames erupted from the hearth and engulfed him completely.

He opened his eyes and found himself in another place seconds later. He got out from the fireplace and saw his brothers standing not far away from him. He removed the soot from himself and his trunk before approaching them.

Emerald flames appeared once again and his mother and younger sister came out. They went out of the pub and walked all the way to the train station within ten minutes (they weren't having a hard time since their mother charmed their trunks to make it lighter), and upon arrival placed their trunks on the trolleys.

Ron was beginning to get excited and nervous simultaneously, wanting to see the scarlet train that would take him to Hogwarts. He heard his mother mutter, "- packed with Muggles, of course –" and he mentally shook his head; his mother had always said that every time they went to King's Cross on September first. Why she always said that, he didn't know but as long as it didn't hurt anyone, it was fine with him and his siblings. "Now, what's the platform number?" she pondered as if not remembering what it was.

All of the siblings, excluding the younger sister, shared a glance. They knew she was asking this because she wanted to be sure that they all know where they were supposed to be going, but it was a bit too much. It wasn't as if they were that forgetful.

Ginny, the youngest of all, piped up and answered the mother's question, her eyes pleading. "Mom, can't I go…"

As the mother told her daughter that she couldn't go due to her age, Ron noticed a scrawny-looking, messy raven-haired boy with round spectacles watching them curiously. Like him, he wore second-hand clothes but seemed worse than his and siblings since it didn't fit him. Ron stared at him and thought that he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't exactly remember where (but he could be mistaken, he added thoughtfully). He knew the boy was a wizard like him because of the trunk and the owl he had so he wasn't bothered much, although he wondered why.

Percy, the eldest in present, already went through the barrier with his things, followed by the twins Fred and George after doing their usual 'Which Twin is Which?' prank which always drove her mother silly.

When the twins were gone, the raven-haired boy finally approached them. "Excuse me," he said to them before proceeding with his question. Apparently, the boy didn't know how to go to King's Cross since it was his first time, and by what Ron could tell, the boy was a Muggle-born.

"Not to worry, all you have to do is just go through the barrier," said the mother, pointing toward the stone pillar with the platforms nine and ten, "Don't stop and don't be scared or you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best if you run if you're feeling nervous." She told him.

Ron could tell that the boy was apprehensive at the method of going to the platform. He thought he would be like that as well if he had been told to run straight against a very solid-looking pillar. He watched as the boy ran straight the barrier in slight panic and a second later, he was gone.

"Now it's your turn Ron," said his mother to him. "We'll follow soon after."

The young redhead nodded shortly, pushing the trolley in front of him. He picked up the speed and went straight through the barrier as he had done many times. Ron looked around to find his brothers but couldn't so he waited for his mother and younger sister to appear. When the two finally got through, the three redheads set off to the train.

"Seven minutes before eleven," said the mother, checking the time from the watch she had. "Thank Merlin we arrived just on time. Now where are your brothers?" she asked Ron.

Ron shrugged, not knowing where his older brothers were.

"Fred? George? Are you there?" called out the mother to the train, hoping that they heard her.

Then his twin brothers appeared as they clambered down from the train, wearing slightly awed looks on their faces. The mother suddenly took out a handkerchief from her pocket, faced Ron and said to him, "Ron, you've got something on your nose." Ron tried to get away but failed and his mother was now rubbing the handkerchief on the end his nose.

"Mom – _geroff,_" He said as he finally got away.

"Aah, does ickle Ronniekins has somefink on his nosie?" one of the twins asked in a mock-baby tone.

Ron scowled at them but his ears turned slightly red. "Shut up," he said to them.

The mother asked the twins where Percy was and on cue, the oldest son arrived, wearing his school robes and a silver badge pinned on his left chest. He began going on about having to go to the Prefect's meeting but his twin brothers interrupted him by teasing. When Percy left, she gave them a warning about not causing trouble at school. "Now, you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've – you've blown up a toilet or –"

"Blown up a toilet? We've blown up a toilet," said the twin.

"Great idea though, thanks Mum," said the other twin, grinning widely.

"It's _not funny_," pressed on the mother. "And look after Ron –"

"Don't worry," said the twin named Fred. "Ickle Ronniekins is safe with us –"

Ron scowled deeply at the pet name the twins had given him. "Shut up," he said again. After the teasing, the twins went on by telling them about meeting Harry Potter in person.

On cue, his younger sister began to squeal, tugging the mother's sleeves. "Oh, Mom, can I go to the train and see him, Mom, oh please…"

The mother said no, saying that they had already seen him and wasn't someone to be goggle at like in a zoo.

The whistle blew and the three boys said their byes to their mother and younger sister before entering inside the train. "We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet, Gin!" hollered George at Ginny who was crying and laughing at the same time. The train gained more speed and King's Cross was soon out of sight.

Ron wandered inside the train, looking for an empty compartment while dragging his trunk and holding his pet Scabbers since he believed his brothers wouldn't let him sit with them. He saw one compartment with only one occupant inside and decided to try staying there if the person would let him. He knocked on the door, slid it open and poked his head inside, asking tentatively, "Anyone sitting there? Everywhere else is full." After asking the young redhead realized that the person inside was the boy who approached them earlier.

The raven-haired boy shook his head, gesturing him to come inside. Sighing in relief, Ron entered and sat down on the opposite side to the boy. Then the door slid open once again and his brothers entered, telling him that their friend Lee Jordan brought a tarantula as though scaring him before greeting the boy who happened to be Harry Potter. The moment the twins left, the redhead glanced at the raven-haired boy once in a while, thinking whether he really was Harry Potter.

Ron couldn't help himself and blurted out, "Are you really Harry Potter?"

The boy looked slightly taken aback but responded, "Yeah, I am."

Ron stared at him incredulously. _He really was Harry Potter?_ But he looked so different from what he imagined. "D-do you have the – scar?" he asked hesitantly but eagerly too.

Harry pulled up his messy bangs and on his forehead was a lightning-shaped scar.

"Wow," let out the redhead. He couldn't really believe he was in the same compartment as the Boy-Who-Lived. Without thinking again, he asked another question before realizing how rude he was. He could feel his face turning red, thinking how stupid he sounded. Surprisingly, Harry asked him a question and it sounded as if he was interested. Ron answered it although there was one question made him feel a bit conscious due to his family's financial status. He was grateful to Harry soon after because he changed the subject and the conversation became light again.

It was already noon and the two were feeling quite hungry. When the trolley full of sweets being pushed by a kind middle-aged woman arrived, Harry pulled out his money, which consisted mostly of galleons and sickles, and bought every single sweet from Chocolate Frogs to Cauldron Cakes. Ron looked away, feeling his anxiety and insecurity rising yet again. "No, I already have packed sandwiches," he mumbled, staring at the two sandwiches in his hand when the trolley lady asked him.

After Harry paid the sweets he bought, he sat down with the food in his arms. He settled it beside him and would check out one of the sweets he bought in mild hesitation and fascination. Ron unwrapped his sandwiches and grimaced after seeing the filling which was corned beef, a food he didn't like. "She always forgets that I don't like corned beef," he muttered with a sigh.

"Let's swap," said Harry suddenly, much to Ron's surprise. "Come on, I don't mind –"

Ron flushed deeply. "You won't like it," he said to him. "It's dry – she's always so busy having five kids –"

"I don't mind," shrugged Harry. "Really."

In the end, Ron gave him his sandwich. As they traded food, his hand brushed to the boy's hand and Ron realized he was having another vision. _Two in one day? I can't believe this –_ he stopped thinking as he saw an older-looking Harry running inside what seemed to be a maze with his wand at ready. The scene changed and a slightly younger Harry rode on a Nimbus Two-Thousand in the middle of a storm in his Quidditch robes and suddenly a swarm of Dementors swooped down from the sky. As the Harry in his vision fell off from his broom, the scene changed once again; Harry was chasing a tall dark-haired woman and reaching the Atrium (he recognized the place immediately since his father brought him there twice) he shouted one spell that caused the woman to drop on her knees and twitch uncontrollably. The visions kept on coming; he couldn't keep up with the information, until –

Ron felt someone roughly shaking him. "Ron?" gasped Harry, holding Ron tightly.

"Wha-? H-Harry?" said Ron inaudibly as he opened his eyes groggily. Focusing his eyesight, he found himself on the floor. _I must've fallen when I had those visions._

"You almost scared me," sighed Harry. "You went unconscious after you gave me your sandwich. I was about to find your brothers –"

"No, I'm fine," cut off Ron, standing up from the floor. "I feel better now."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely," he said seriously. "I just felt a bit dizzy, you see – couldn't sleep last night -" he lied easily.

Harry nodded in understanding. "I know how that feels." They decided to put behind what happened and continued where they left off. They ate the sweets one by one with Ron explaining some of the sweets to Harry.

As they ate, the door opened and a round-faced boy with chestnut brown hair stood by the entrance. He asked them if they had seen a toad that happened to be his pet but the two shook their heads. Ron took a longer glance and mused to himself, thinking that the boy was familiar. _I must've seen him from one of the visions I had before_, he thought shortly after the boy left the compartment. Few minutes after, someone entered the compartment and this time it was a girl. She had bushy brown hair, brown eyes, and rather large front teeth. She asked them whether they had seen a toad named Trevor and Ron noted that she must be helping the other boy in finding his pet. They said no again and were left to their own devices.

Minutes went by and the conversation transferred to the Hogwarts Sorting. "My family are all in Gryffindor," Ron told him. "Of course, I'm expected to end up there," he suddenly felt nervous as he said this. _What if I didn't get in?_ "but really, imagine me going to Slytherin. Think I'll leave?"

After that comment, the door slid open for the third time and three boys stood from the entrance. As it turned out, the three boys were looking for Harry and the pale boy in the middle introduced himself and his two companions (or bodyguards, as Ron described them) with their names were Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Greggory Goyle. The redhead knew at once who they were and he wouldn't want to associate any of them at all even if he was offered with a thousand Galleons. A small ruckus happened and the three scuttled away from the compartment due to Scabbers's doing (the rat bit Goyle's finger as the bulky boy tried to take some of the remaining sweets lying on the seats). The rest of the day went rather smoothly until they finally reached their destination.

They followed a huge man resembling a giant (whom Harry seemed to know him personally) and took off to the castle by riding on the small, self-moving boats along with the other first years. As they reached to the other side, they continued to follow the giant man until they stood in front of a huge oak door. The giant man knocked on the door three times and waited shortly.

The door opened and standing before them was a tall woman wearing an emerald cloak. Ron immediately could tell that the woman was McGonagall, the professor his older brothers talked about the most when the topic was about the Hogwarts professors. She had sharp brown eyes, thin lips, and had her hair was tied up in a tight bun, wearing a no-nonsense and strict expression on her face.

"The first years," said the man gruffly to the woman.

"Thank you, Hagrid," said McGonagall. When the man called Hagrid left, the woman made a sweeping glance over all the students and said, "If you will follow me." She turned and walked briskly inside and the first years trailed behind her, looking around their surroundings in curiosity. She led them inside an empty room and closing the door, she faced them. "Welcome to Hogwarts, my name is Professor McGonagall -" she made a small introduction of the magical institution and its overall rules and after she was done, she reminded them to clean up and left the room.

The moment she was gone, everyone inside the room began to speak. Harry faced Ron and asked worryingly, "Do you know how we get sorted?"

Ron remembered a vivid vision he had when he was eight; he saw one of his twin brothers sitting on a stool with a tattered old hat on his head, and after a few seconds the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!".

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." he said thoughtfully, remembering what Fred and George said to him when he got his Hogwarts letter.

He watched Harry's expression, knowing a couple of ideas the famous wizard would be thinking right now. If he wasn't able to see the future (although in flashes), he would be thinking along the same lines. He glanced toward the others and saw some of the first years he encountered during the train ride: Malfoy and his two goons, the round-faced boy who kept losing his toad, and the bushy-haired girl who was quite, in his opinion, a human library.

The door creaked open and McGonagall returned to them, announcing it was time. Everyone lined up in twos and followed her all the way to the Great Hall, which astounded all of the first years, even the purebloods. From where Ron stood, he saw the tattered-looking hat that was perched on the high stool. His heart raced and he wholeheartedly wished he would be sorted to Gryffindor. Everyone inside the hall quieted down, their eyes on the hat. Ron and the rest did what the older students were doing and watched it closely. The rim ripped open and moving as if it's a mouth, the hat began to sing.

Ron tried his best to listen to the song and understood that the Sorting Hat was describing the qualities of each House namely Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. After the song, everyone clapped their hands. "I'm going to kill Fred," laughed Ron. "he was going on about wrestling a troll." He knew he shouldn't believe some of the things his twin brothers would tell him and this was one of those things.

Professor McGonagall strode up the stage and stood beside the Sorting Hat with a roll of parchment in her hand and said loudly, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." She glanced down her parchment and called, "Abbott, Hannah!"

A blonde girl wearing pigtails with rosy cheeks walked up the stage, sat on the stool, wore the hat and waited nervously. "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat, earning cheers from one table on Ron's left. After her followed another girl with red hair and it went on and on.

When Harry's name was called, Ron said good luck to him and watched with interest as much as the other students inside the Great Hall. He didn't expect that the sorting of Harry was longer and the students held their breaths, wanting to know which House the Boy-Who-Lived truly belonged. Almost three minutes had passed and finally the Sorting Hat cried, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The House of Lions erupted in loud cheers as if winning a competition. "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Ron's older twin brothers chanted loudly. Ron could see Harry's relieved expression and wondered which House he almost got sorted before landing on Gryffindor.

It took a few minutes until everyone had settled down. The rest of sorting went by smoothly after and when Ron's name was called, he felt his heart drop. _Calm down, it'll be fine,_ said Ron to himself as he made his way toward the Sorting Hat. He picked up the hat, sat on the stool and wore it. He waited for a bit, feeling nervous and worried.

_Another Weasley, eh?_ A voice echoed inside his mind.

_Who're you?_ questioned Ron quickly, panicked that another voice he was sure wasn't his spoke in his mind.

_I'm the Sorting Hat, of course,_ replied the hat. _Now I'm just going to check your mind for a bit so I can sort you._ The hat went silent and so did Ron. _Yes, as expected, you are brave but also loyal. You'll do well in Gryffindor and Hufflepu – interesting, you possess quite a gift. Seeing is a serious business._

_I know that,_ huffed Ron. _I haven't done anything –_

_Oh, but you're planning on stopping some events you've seen in the near future,_ continued the hat as if proving a point.

_And what's wrong with that? _He growled, forgetting about the sorting completely. He didn't notice the curious looks the other students were giving him and the worried expressions from his older brothers. _They don't deserve it – especially Fred!_

_You're not going to change your mind, are you? _said the Sorting Hat, sounding amused.

_I'm not and you won't be able to convince me,_ said Ron without missing a beat.

_Very well. But remember little Weasley, take responsibility for your actions. I know where to put you now, although you'll protest. The path you will take is harder but I'm sure you'll fare well in the end –_

_What? Wait -! _Gasped Ron, his dread filling him suddenly.

"SLYTHERIN!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>I've always wanted to read a Slytherin!Ron story but there's like less than 20 stories, so I've decided to make one and take a different approach, hopefully.<strong>_

_**No, he doesn't know what an Animagus is at the moment but he will in the future. Yes, he did See his older brother Bill getting mauled by Greyback (he doesn't know who he really is but assumes that he is a werewolf), and his older brother Fred getting killed.**_

_**As to reacting to Harry, well, I've always perceived Harry as a powerful wizard but (emphasis!) not to the point of becoming a Mage, or Warlock, or some powerful god-deity-something that can rip off anyone into smithereens. I guess if he really harnessed his potential, he'll be as strong as Severus Snape or at least in the same level as Dumbledore (possibly stronger than Dumbledore but not stronger than Merlin) but only just that. Anyway, that's partially my point but what I'm trying to say here is that Ron would react strongly to someone with more magical power, ergo he is able to See more than one when he had contact with Harry in the train.**_

_**Lastly, about him being sorted to Slytherin, Ron is an ambitious character in canon so he could've been sorted there. He'll develop some Slytherin traits the longer he'll stay there, for sure.**_

_**EDIT: Please be advised that changes of this story will take a tad long. This story is coming from Ron's point of view so what he thinks is minimal change could be major in another point of view, like Harry or Hermione perhaps.  
><strong>_


	3. Chapter 2

The whole student population fell silent after the Sorting Hat's decision. Both Gryffindor and Slytherin students were stunned, especially the Weasley brothers. Harry, who hoped that Ron would be sorted to Gryffindor, had a shocked look on his face. McGonagall stared at the young Weasley in utter surprise and a man with greasy hair and a large hook nose, wearing black robes frowned slightly before masking it to indifference.

Ron's face was white, his eyes wide as saucers. He couldn't believe it. He was sorted to Slytherin.

"That's bollocks!" yelled someone and Ron knew it was Fred who shouted. "He can't be in Slytherin!" His outburst broke the silence and everyone began whispering amongst each other.

"Fred's right!" said George loudly in protest, standing up from his seat and glaring at the now-motionless hat on Ron's head. "He needs to be resorted! He's -!"

"That's quite enough, Mr. Weasley," said a calm voice. Ron turned and realized the one who spoke was no other than the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. His gaze turned to Ron and asked softly, "Mr. Weasley?"

"I – I," stammered Ron. _I can't be in Slytherin._

_But you are. I decided it's the best House for you,_ said the hat to him, surprising him. _If you truly want to attain your goal, Slytherin will provide what you need. And it's not the House that defines the person; the person himself defines what the House is all about. Salazar Slytherin wasn't a dark wizard most of you students made him out._ After that, the hat became quiet once again.

Ron could feel everyone's gazes boring on him. He knew what the headmaster was asking: whether or not he wanted to be resorted. He took a moment's silence and said mentally to hat, _Promise you won't tell anyone about what you know._ He left the stool, placed the hat on it, and silently made his way to the Slytherin table. _I'm sorry_, he thought sadly, sitting beside a girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail. He looked up and his gaze met his brothers' broken expression. Ron quickly looked away, feeling very much ashamed of himself.

After his sorting were three students who were Dean Thomas who went to Gryffindor, Blaise Zabini who also ended up in Slytherin, and Rose Zeller who was sorted to Ravenclaw. He didn't bother listening to the short opening speech of the headmaster or the conversations he could hear within earshot. He ate silently and slowly (he wasn't feeling as hungry as before) and kept his head down to avoid anyone's looks.

The evening wouldn't be too awful if it weren't for Draco Malfoy and his cronies who were now making snide comments about him. "I can't believe a blood-traitor got sorted in Slytherin," sneered Draco, baiting Ron to fire back.

"I know Draco," simpered a girl. She had black shoulder-length hair and a face resembling a pug. "It's an atrocity."

"Salazar Slytherin must rolling over his grave right now," jabbed another student, earning nods from the others. "A blood-traitor got sorted in Slytherin."

"Tell me Weasley, did you beg the hat to put you in Slytherin?" goaded Draco, his eyes filled with malice. "Do you think you –"

Ron couldn't take it any longer and slammed the cutlery on the table, shocking the students sitting close to him. He said forcefully, "What made the Sorting Hat decide to put me here in this House is none of your business. Really, you sounded like one of those middle-aged women who like gossip, don't you know?" he ended with a sneer. He was about to eat again but he stopped and added, "By the way, your voice is annoying. It's high-pitched like a girl's so you better shut your gob because it's irritating."

The Slytherins who heard him didn't say anything and stared at him, perplexed. Then one of them snorted, followed by some light chuckles. Draco, on the other hand, flushed with his cheeks blotched pink from embarrassment and anger.

Smirking in satisfaction, he turned away and began to eat again with more gusto. But his smile slid off as thoughts of sleeping with his new dorm mates (he mentally shuddered) entered his mind. He was going to pay dearly for what he did just now. _Don't fret it, _said Ron mentally as he tried to calm himself down. _He can't possibly hurt me, he doesn't know any harmful spells._

_Are you sure? He's a son of an alleged Death Eater,_ reminded a small voice, making him more anxious. _And even if he doesn't know any hexes or severe spells, he can just order his two goons to beat you up in a pulp._

He was going to be murdered overnight, and for the rest of the year. Scratch that, he's dead for the next six years of his Hogwarts life. Ron swore under his breath, earning a questioning look from the girl sitting beside whose name was Tracey Davis. _But I can still defend myself,_ said Ron determinedly. He suddenly remembered a smaller journal he owned where all of the spells he encountered in his visions were recorded (he was going to research them when he arrived to Hogwarts) but considering the situation, he might as well use some of them later if the situation called for it. And he might be able to know its functions at the same time. He felt more confident in himself and he wasn't going to let anyone push him around.

When the food vanished and was replaced by desserts, Ron's mouth watered at the sight and piled his plate with one of everything he could reach, ignoring Draco and his friends this time.

Finally, the desserts were gone as well. Everyone inside the Great Hall was full and content and their attention was focused on Dumbledore who stood up, his arms open and wide with a warm smile on his ancient face.

Ron couldn't help but snort at the headmaster's choice of words in his opening speech but his curiosity perked up when Dumbledore had forbidden everyone of all years not to go to the third-floor corridor, right side. His mind went buzzing, wondering if he was able to See any vision relating to the third floor. He snapped back, noticing that everyone was standing up to leave. Ron saw his fellow Slytherins (he shuddered once more) and followed them quickly as he didn't want to be left behind. He could tell they were going to the dungeons and it was becoming creepier as time passed by. The first years trailed after the prefects until they stood in front of a damp empty wall.

"In front of you is the entrance to the Slytherin dungeons," said the male prefect, gesturing the damp wall behind him. "Do try to remember the password," he added with a hint of irritation (Ron had a feeling the prefect didn't like to help much).

"The password is Superiority," said the female prefect and the wall slid upward. Everyone entered inside except Ron who still stood by the entrance with a disgusted expression planted on his face. Sighing, he went in along the others. "On the left side are the boy's dormitories and on the right side are the girl's," she told them.

"But before you can go to your dorms," interrupted the male prefect, giving the first years a beady look, "Professor Snape –" Ron saw Draco smirked, "- will come and give a welcoming speech to you first years so I suggest you behave yourselves when he arrives." He gestured them to the common room and the first thing that Ron could think was green. The curtains were emerald green, and so were the leather sofas. The windows were shut tightly and he could see some creatures swimming (and if his eyesight wasn't fooling him, he saw a mermaid passing by). Ron was now certain that the Slytherin dungeons were located under the Black lake.

Ron saw almost all of the House's students were assembled at the common room. It wasn't long until they heard the entrance slid open and the Slytherin Head, Severus Snape (or the greasy bat as Ron's twin brothers fondly called him), arrived with his black robes billowing.

"Settle down," he said softly, standing in front of the fireplace and giving everyone a sweeping glance. The moment he spoke, everyone fell silent, giving him their utmost attention. "Welcome to Slytherin, first years and welcome back to everyone else. To those who do not know me, my name is Severus Snape and I am the head of this House. I am also the institution's Potions Professor, and therefore I will be seeing you in my class soon."

"You should be proud to be sorted into this House, for Slytherin represents the qualities of ambition, cunning, and resourcefulness. These qualities will help you get where you want to be in the future or in any endeavours you seek." He paused for a moment, wanting his words to sink in. "As head of Slytherin, I expect all of you, and also the older students, to behave appropriately to all of your Professors, not only I, and that you will be under no circumstances be in any situation that calls for docking of points and detention. You have been warned." he finished, giving everyone a firm yet stern gaze.

"It's already late and I'm sure all of you wished to sleep in their beds," he continued, noticing one or two students blinking to keep themselves awake, "so I won't delay you any further. Tomorrow morning, the prefects will escort the first years to the Great Hall for breakfast and I expect you to guide them to their classes. Tardiness is not an option in Slytherin," he said, directing his words to the prefects who nodded firmly. "Good night to all of you," he ended.

"Good night Professor Snape," chorused all Slytherin students to him. When the Slytherin head left the common room, everyone else dispersed from the common room and went to their respective dormitories.

Ron was in deep thought as Snape's words echoed inside his mind. He wasn't sure but it was as if Snape had an underlying meaning to his words. He made his way to the first year boy's dormitories and entered inside where he was greeted by Draco's malice voice.

"So, you're going to sleep here with us for the next six years here at Hogwarts," began Draco, giving the redhead a filthy look. He was standing with the rest of the first year Slytherin boys other than Crabbe and Goyle.

"Obviously," Ron rolled his eyes. "Are you that daft?" He knew he was pushing his luck but he wasn't going to back down.

Draco glowered at him but chose to overlook what he said. "I don't think you deserve to stay here. You're better off sleeping out on the cold floor where you belong."

"So you're saying that I should get out?" scoffed Ron but his right hand was gripping his wand inside his robes.

"Good that you understand what I'm saying," sneered the pale blonde boy and Crabbe and Goyle stepped toward Ron, cracking their knuckles.

Before the two could even touch him, Ron drew his wand and pointed at them. "_Impedimenta"_' he shouted, randomly remembering one of the spells he wrote down in his journal. A flash of blue light shot out from his wand, knocking the two boys back with such force they were now lying unconscious on Draco's feet. _Is that what that spell's supposed to do?_ Wondered Ron in bewilderment, staring at his two dorm mates' unmoving bodies on the floor. _Or did I use too much power when I cast it?_

Draco and the dark-skinned boy were speechless.

"That's the Impediment Jinx. How did you learn that?" asked a weedy-built boy. He had dapper black hair, narrow black eyes, and olive skin.

"My brothers mentioned it once," lied Ron shortly, still pointing his wand at them. "So Malfoy, are you still considering what you said? You'll end up just like your two mates," he said to Draco, glaring.

"I'll tell Professor Snape about this –" snarled Draco.

"Then tell him," said Ron, anger bubbling inside him. "I don't care." He lowered his wand, went to his bed and wrenched the curtains open. "I'm going to bed, you should do the same," he muttered mutinously. He didn't dare look at them but he could tell they did what he suggested (he wondered if one of them dragged Crabbe and Goyle to their beds) judging by the sounds of the curtains being pulled. Ron kicked off his shoes and slid under the blanket, not bothering to change his clothes. As he lied down, he fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

><p>Ron was alone in the dark; he couldn't see nor hear anything. Then he heard voices, shouting and screaming in extreme pain and suffering. One of the voices he heard was familiar and he cried out to call to that voice, but no sound came out from his mouth. Suddenly a bright green light burst out, enveloping him completely that he woke up, sweating.<p>

He let out a relieved sigh after realizing it was a dream. He glanced around the room and saw none of his dorm mates. Ron looked up at the time from the wall clock and to his horror, it was already half past seven. He jumped out of bed and went straight inside the bathroom to take a quick shower. He dried himself up and wore his Hogwarts uniform as fast as he could before dashing out to find the way to the Great Hall. "Those gits," growled Ron, hating Draco and the others more than he could imagine before he heard a muffled chatter from one corner. He followed the noise and was pleased that he found the place.

His stomach growled in hunger and he strode to the Slytherin table to eat. He sat down, pulled a plate and stacked some eggs and bacon on it but before he could eat any of it, Snape's voice called his name, halting him.

"Mr. Weasley," said the Potions Master lowly. He stood in front of him as if he appeared out of nowhere, looking quite menacing. His call caused some of the Slytherin students sitting nearby to look up and watch them curiously.

"Yes, professor?" replied Ron tensely, avoiding the students' looks his way and dreading what the potions professor had to say.

"You are summoned to the headmaster's office," he said silkily. "And we'll be having a talk later after your last class, is that clear?"

Ron gulped involuntarily and nodded once. "Yes."

"Follow me," he turned his back and strode away from the Great Hall, walking up the nearest staircase.

Ron quickly trailed after him, wanting to avoid attention as much as possible. He jogged for a moment in order to catch up to the foreboding man who didn't lower his pace. After a minutes' of silence, Snape finally stopped. Ron abruptly stopped his walk and looked around until he saw two stone gargoyles on his side.

"Sherbet Lemon," scowled Snape as he said the password. An elevating staircase appeared between the two gargoyles and he stepped in. Ron jumped in as well and wobbled a bit before regaining his balance as he was not used to moving stairs. When they reached the landing, Snape knocked on the door twice and not a moment later Dumbledore's voice spoke from inside.

"Enter," the two walked in and the first thing Ron saw was his parents, his older brothers Percy, Fred and George, and Ginny. He felt his stomach dropped at the sight of them. "Ah Mr. Weasley, you finally arrived. Please take a seat," he gestured kindly toward the empty squishy-looking chair in front of his desk.

Ron was panicking inside; it was too sudden for him to meet his family and he didn't want to know their thoughts before he could even prepare himself. He looked away, feeling very ashamed and anxious. He avoided their gazes and sat numbly on the chair. He heard a click of the door and assumed that Snape must have left the office.

"I assume you know the reason why I called you, Mr. Weasley," said Dumbledore, gazing at Ron intently through his half-moon spectacles. When he saw the young redhead inclined a small nod, he continued. "Your brothers sent a letter to your parents about your sorting and as you can tell, they responded quickly by arriving here. They wanted to know why the Sorting Hat put you there instead of Gryffindor."

"Yeah, it's bloody impossible since –" blurted out George before silencing himself from his mother's hardened gaze.

"So, you're going to ask the Sorting Hat about my sorting?" concluded Ron slowly.

"Correct," came Dumbledore's simple response. "Although I'm sure nothing seems to be wrong with it, your parents would like to know personally." He turned to face the Sorting Hat and said, "I assume that you're listening to us?"

"Yes," spoke the Hat, moving slightly from the high stool he was perched. "You question my decision, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," the hat directed his words toward Ron's parents.

"But my son can't be a Slytherin – not that I'm against anyone who's under that House," said Mr. Weasley quickly. "But it's just that the whole family is in Gryffindor, even my ancestors they in Gryffindor. Even Molly's side was all Gryffindor.'

"But didn't we have a Great-great grandfather who's sorted to Ravenclaw?" piped up Ginny who sat on her father's lap.

"Yes, but he was more of a reader," said Mrs. Weasley fondly.

"Mr. Weasley, there's nothing wrong with your son being sorted to Salazar's House," said the hat. "Yes, he could've been sorted to Gryffindor, but he would do well in Hufflepuff. But after much consideration, Slytherin is best House for him –"

"Why?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"- because he possess some of the traits that Slytherin upholds – resourcefulness and ambition," continued the hat. "You shouldn't be disappointed in him just because he was sorted in another House, especially in Slytherin," said the Sorting Hat. "The House doesn't define the person, it's the person that defines the House. Do try to remember that." at the end of his speech, the hat went still and said no more.

"I guess that settles the issue," said Dumbledore after a few seconds. "I do hope things have cleared up for you, Arthur and Molly."

Mrs. Weasley let out a sigh. "Yes, it was enlightening."

Professor Dumbledore stood up and said, "I'll let you all have a private moment. I will take my leave," he stood up from his seat and left the office.

When he was gone, all of the Weasleys present didn't say anything first. Ron, who had been avoiding their gazes, finally looked up at them, and asked tentatively, "Are you going to hate me now?" The question threw the other Weasleys off, shocked that they didn't know to how to respond immediately. "Are you? Just because I'm sorted to Slyth -"

"Of course not!" cried Mrs. Weasley. She rushed to her son and embraced him tightly. "We would never hate you! What made you think -?"

"Because you're here," said Ron, mustering his courage after he pulled himself away. "You didn't like that the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin. No Weasley should be in Slytherin. You're going to disown me –"

"It's not like we didn't like that you ended up in Slytherin, son," sighed Mr. Weasley. "It's just that it's hard to believe that a Weasley would be sorted there. No one saw that, not even us." He glanced over the motionless tattered hat from one corner and continued, "and the Sorting Hat did have a point. We still love you, Ron. Remember that."

Ron felt his heart swelling in happiness and relief but he stopped and watched his brothers and sisters who were standing a few feet away.

Percy was the first one who stepped forward and gave him a one-arm hug. 'I don't hate you, if that's what you're thinking,' he said to him, lacking the pompous tone. 'I'm just really shocked that you got sorted in another House. You're still my brother no matter what happens,' he finished importantly.

"Thanks Percy," mumbled Ron gratefully. He slowly glanced at the twins and Ginny, feeling apprehensive and scared of what their reaction would be.

Ginny was next and said to him, "You're still Ron to me," she hugged him and whispered, "You're my favourite brother no matter what," she gave him a small smile before going back to Mrs. Weasley's side. Ron couldn't help but smile gratefully to her.

"Well," began Fred, scratching the back of his head. Ron looked up to him and became apprehensive yet again. "I have to admit, I really don't like the idea of you or anyone in the family being sorted to Slytherin –" Ron winced as if his words were knives cutting through him, "- but you're still ickle Ronniekins to us."

"Yeah, just as long as you don't get along with Malfoy or anyone in there," added George.

Ron shook his head. "No way. Malfoy and his goons are gits."

"Language, Ronald!" said Mrs. Weasley sternly. "Now do take care, all right? And I want you to study hard."

"Yes Mum," grumbled Ron, not wanting to hear about studying or reading. But he grinned slightly, happy that his fears of becoming an outcast didn't come true.

* * *

><p>Before Ron attended his first class, he was given an excuse note from the headmaster himself (and schedule from Snape who approached him again) to inform the professor the reason of his lateness. He knocked on the door of the greenhouse, entered inside and gave the note to a squat yet good-natured witch named Pomona Sprout who was the Herbology professor as well as the head of Hufflepuff House. He ignored the stares from the students and sat on the right end of the greenhouse, listening to the professor instead. It took two hours to finish the class and Ron thought it was a good subject despite the dangers of the plants they would be studying soon.<p>

As everyone filed out, Ron felt someone hit him hard by the shoulder. He stumbled forward and glancing around who did it, he saw Draco and the rest of the Slytherins walking out of the greenhouse, smirking. "Malfoy," growled Ron.

Ron checked his schedule and noted that the next lesson would be was Transfiguration. The next class would take place after lunch so he decided to return to the Slytherin dungeons. He gave the password in disgust and went all the way to the dormitory where none of his dorm mates were present. He opened his trunk and took out his journal from the bottom, along with a quill and an ink pot. Ron opened the journal, dipped his quill in the inkpot, and began to write the visions he had yesterday.

He would've written it yesterday but he couldn't do it in front of the others. He tried to remember everything, not leaving out any detail that might be important. It took him a while but he was able to finish what he foresaw from Harry's future. He only managed to remember around five scenarios (Ron was clearly disappointed), but it was better than nothing. He let the ink dry first while glancing toward the door nervously for fear of someone entering (especially Malfoy. He wouldn't mind much if Crabbe or Goyle entered, he figured they wouldn't be as nosy as their albino leader).

Ron reread what he wrote, taking in all of the details and descriptions from the visions he had. He checked the time and to his surprise, it was almost twelve-eighteen. It was already lunchtime. He stuffed his journal back inside his trunk, locked it securely, and left the room and out of the dungeons. This time, he remembered the way to the Great Hall. He sat at the very left end of the Slytherin table and began to eat as much as he could. He noticed the students leaving after swallowing so he hastily finished his shepherd's pie and stood up to leave like the others.

He sprinted off inside the corridor, asking the portraits where he should go instead of the students, and he finally made it to his destination after much running. Ron entered the classroom and to his relief, McGonagall the Transfiguration professor wasn't there yet. When the class began, Ron thought the subject itself was hard. Although Transfiguration was interesting, it demanded concentration and use of the visual mind as lectured by McGonagall herself. By the time the bell rang, all students from Hufflepuff and Slytherin stood up to leave.

Ron noticed Draco and some of the Slytherins throwing smirks at him and he knew at once what it was all about; he knew what the consequence for his actions last night were and he wasn't afraid because he did what he thought was right. He was not going to let anyone in Slytherin to push him around. He was a Weasley and Weasleys did not back down.

He approached McGonagall slowly, hoping she would tell him where Snape's office was located. Fortunately, she told him where it was without asking too much. He hurriedly went to the potions master's office and five minutes later, he was in front of the door. He drew a deep breath and knocked on the door twice.

"Enter," Snape's drawling voice drifted from inside. Ron pulled the handle and entered inside. Snape's office was described in Ron's opinion as 'creepy'; the walls except the one behind the desk were covered by shelves with jars containing what seemed to be potion ingredients (Ron didn't dare glancing the disturbing ones). "Mr. Weasley, close the door." said Snape without looking up. Ron did what he was told and closed the door behind him as quietly as he could. "Sit," Ron sat on one of the two leather black chairs in front of the desk.

No one spoke for a while as Snape graded a stack of papers that turned out to be summer holiday homework. Ron sat still, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Finally, the potions master put down his quill and spoke, "I don't need to explain to you why you're here, am I correct?"

"Yes," answered Ron. "sir," he added as Snape's gaze hardened.

"Very well," said Snape. "Mr. Malfoy –" Ron mentally snorted, "- told me this morning what you did last night to Mr. Crabbe and Goyle. You used an Impediment Jinx against them, a spell that will be learned in fourth year of the Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum. Now tell me Mr. Weasley, how did you know of this spell?" he ended with a question.

"I learned it from my older brothers Fred and Geo –" started Ron, sticking to his lie.

"Don't lie to me," growled Snape. "Your twin brothers could not have learned that spell. They prefer goofing around and would not waste time learning defensive spells."

Ron couldn't believe it. It was as if Snape could read his mind. "I –" thoughts entered his mind, trying to find out a possible way to not tell him how he knew that spell. "- I read it in one of the old notes of Bill," he said. "Since he took the job as a Curse-Breaker, he studied a lot of defensive spells or anything that could help him with the job. I read it last year. His notes were still in his room, if you're wondering."

Snape gave him a penetrating look and Ron couldn't look away. _Don't think of it; just stay calm,_ he said to himself. It was true that Bill researched all sorts of defensive spells months before he took leave to Egypt, so he wasn't exactly lying.

"Your brother is rather irresponsible then," sneered Snape. "I expected more from him since he was Head Boy three years ago," Ron clenched his fists, stopping the urge of retorting what the Slytherin Head said about his older brother Bill. "Assuming that you don't know what spell you used, the Impediment Jinx is a spell that can slow down anyone when hit. Too much power can cause for the victim to knock back unconscious like the Stunning spell."

Ron stared at him in awe. _That's one spell down,_ he thought.

"Now Mr. Weasley," said Snape silkily, causing Ron to jump slightly in his seat, "what you did last night is offensive, therefore you will be given one week of detention –"

"That's unfair!" protested Ron. "I only jinxed them because they were going to kick me out from the dormitory!"

"And why would they do that?" questioned Snape skeptically.

"because I'm a blood-traitor and I don't deserve to be in Slytherin as they put it," said Ron monotonously, giving him a long stare.

Snape regarded him for a moment and said finally, "You should've told me right away when they said that. You still be given a weeklong of detention –" Ron opened his mouth to protest again, "- for what you did. I do not tolerate unruly behavior. You're a Slytherin, not a Gryffindor."

From the final tone Ron knew that the discussion was over. "Yes sir," he muttered in defeat. He stood up to leave, excused himself and went to the door.

"And Mr. Weasley," said Snape suddenly, his eyes fixed on the test papers again. "Do not do that again. There are other ways to stop from being harassed. Good day to you."

Ron merely nodded once and left the office. After taking a couple of steps made him realize what Snape had implied. He ran along inside the empty hallway and seeing one of the ghosts, he stopped and asked, "D'you know where the Owlery is?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>This is rather long for me. Okay, not really but it was a hard one.<strong>_

_**I don't think Snape hates the Weasleys in general. He seems to tolerate (and/or somehow respect Arthur and Molly) most of them, but maybe not to Charlie and the twins since they're more playful in nature tend to be in thick of trouble. Snape doesn't like Ron in canon only because he's best friends with Harry, that's how I see it. So yeah, he's a bit less Snape-ish in this one. He's not going to be biased towards Ron much since he's a Slytherin and Snape favors the Slytherins (but he'll favor Draco more, that's for sure). **_

_**As for Ron using the Impediment Jinx, he doesn't have much control over his magic and magic can be influenced through the wizard/witch's emotions. Since Ron felt angry (and panicky), the jinx he threw against Crabbe and Goyle became a bit stronger, thus knocking them unconscious. Next one will be Ron's first class in Potions and Flying lessons (one of the few scenes in the next chapter)! **_

_**There'll be lots of Harry, Hermione and the replacement of Ron in the next one! I'm sure you know who that character is.**_


	4. Chapter 3

It was nearly a week since Ron attended Hogwarts and somehow he had gotten used to his daily routine. His daily routine involved waking up alone inside the dormitory (he was very fine with this), hurrying up to have breakfast, going to classes alone, have lunch and dinner alone, go to the library and search of defensive spells (he found out about this when he sent a letter to Bill asking about shields and protection) for him use against anyone who would dare bother him inside the dormitory and everywhere else.

Ron, as usual, headed his way to the Potions classroom located at the dungeons (he thought whether or not Snape had a thing for cold, dark places) and entered inside. His entry met with curious gazes but ignored it, taking a seat at the rightmost end of the classroom with Millicent Bulstrode and Tracey Davis who didn't seem to mind him and simply ignored his presence. He glanced around and saw Harry sitting comfortably beside the round-faced boy named Neville Longbottom who Ron could now officially tell that they were fast friends. His insides stirred unpleasantly and he grimaced slightly, thinking that their earlier stance was long gone ever since he was sorted to Slytherin. It was awkward, tense, and it was obvious that their flimsy friendship from the train wouldn't last. In the end, the two could only nod each other when their paths meet.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door banged open and Snape strode smartly in the classroom, surprising some of the students. "Settle down," he said lowly but he didn't need to say that; the moment he entered, the whole class fell silent. Snape firstly introduced himself and began a roll call as any other professor had done.

When Harry's name was mentioned, Ron could hear the pure detest mixed in the potions master's voice. Apparently, most of the students were able to detect it and had two differing expressions: the Gryffindors had confused looks while the Slytherins (minus Ron) had smirks planted on their faces, especially Draco's.

Snape continued with the roll call and after that, he began with his introductory speech about the subject itself. It was as good, Ron had to admit as he listened, but the last remark simply downgraded the whole speech. It was then he realized Snape was a man with high standards and little patience which wasn't a good combination. Suddenly, he fired questions at Harry who looked quite surprised.

While Harry wasn't able to answer the questions, there was another student whose right hand was raised as high as it could reach the ceiling. The student's name was Hermione Granger and she was the bushy-haired know-it-all that the Slytherins had been mocking and teasing since the first day of classes. Ron had to admit to himself, the female Gryffindor was rather annoying whenever she recited in class and this was the second time he had class with her.

After everyone took notes, they were told by Snape to pair up and make a simple solution to cure boils. Ron expected to do the activity alone but to his surprise, one of his dorm mates named Theodore Nott approached him silently and stoically. "Weasley," said Theodore monotonously, surprising Ron.

"What?" replied Ron hotly, feeling slightly defensive on instinct.

"Potions work," he said shortly.

"With me?" continued Ron, frowning. "Why?"

"Better you than a Gryffindor," was the weedy boy's answer, and Ron knew what he meant: he'd rather work with a blood-traitor sorted in Slytherin than a Muggle-loving Gryffindor whose blood was possibly impure.

"Fine," sighed Ron and the two began arranging their potion equipment. Theodore did the mixing and the timing of putting each ingredient in the cauldron while Ron took the needed ingredients and cut them properly. The product of their combined work was barely above average judging by what the potion supposed to look like from the book, but Ron was glad that the potion wasn't a failure. Snape walked by, checked their potion, and gave them one remark about the timing of their last two ingredients and the number of clockwise stirs but said otherwise that they did well.

However, Harry and Neville's work were unable to reach the cut. Their potion blew up and the students nearby ducked in time just to avoid the potion. Even Harry was able to avoid with his reflexes. But Neville was caught victim, earning boils on his face and arms.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, approaching the table and removing the residue of the blown-up potion. "I take it that you added the porcupine quills before removing the cauldron from the fire, am I correct?" he turned to Harry, throwing daggers at him. "Why didn't you stop him? Thought you'll be able to slack off?"

Harry opened his mouth angrily but Neville shook his head.

"Another point will be taken from your irresponsibility," sneered Snape. "Take Longbottom to the Hospital Wing. Class dismissed."

All of the Gryffindors hastily left the classroom as they shot glares at the professor, while the Slytherins (minus Ron), leisurely walked out laughing and sneering with what happened with Ron as the last one to leave. "I guess there's one good thing about being a Slytherin," he said grimly as he made his way to the Great Hall, "it's that Snape favours anyone in his House. My brothers are right. He can be downright nasty."

* * *

><p>He ate alone while reading the spells he wrote down in the small journal. He was determined to master the spells he found so that he wouldn't have to stay up most of the night waiting for his dorm mates to sleep first. His brother Bill was helpful and understanding; he was just as surprised as the rest of the family but he accepted it without fuss. He sent him a parchment with the spells and the books where they could be found. He also added some spells like the Silencing Charm and some basic defensive spells for him to learn in order to defend himself from bullying Slytherins or anyone else.<p>

Of course, he knew he wouldn't be able to learn and master all of it within the year (he figured he would be finished around third year with the spells he had right now but he would learn more advanced spells, both ward and defensive as he grew up) so he was going to take it one at the time with the basic ones first. So far, he mastered the Impediment Jinx and Body-Bind Curse; he managed to master the two spells by using it against someone to see if he did it right without anyone seeing him. His personal favourites were Crabbe or Goyle as guinea pigs. They were so thick-headed, they couldn't pinpoint who was the culprit. Only Draco suspected him but he didn't have any shred of evidence, thankfully enough.

As he read, Ron knew the difficulty of the spells he had discovered but it wouldn't stop him from learning them. He knew in a couple of years, he would be using anything he learned in the war he foresaw. He had to be ready.

Ron trudged down the stairs from the dormitory and saw his dorm mates surrounding the bulletin board. He didn't need to go there because Draco's obnoxious voice could be heard from his spot. "…on Monday with the Gryffindors. I bet most of them couldn't fly, especially Longbottom and Potter. I've been flying since five – I was taught by the best instructors in Europe –"

The redhead tuned out his voice and decided to leave the common room. He walked around the castle aimlessly, thinking about one of his favourite hobbies, Quidditch. He really hoped that he could join the Quidditch team when he grew up and become keeper but now he was certain that it was impossible. No Slytherin in their right mind would recruit a Weasley in the Quidditch team. "Better give up that dream," he muttered. He turned around and saw Harry's friend Neville Longbottom coming out from the greenhouse, his hands and robes covered in dirt but with a satisfied grin on his face.

Ron watched him curiously. He wanted to know at some point what kind of friend Harry Potter has. Without thinking, Ron moved to his direction. "You're Longbottom, right?" he asked suddenly to the round-faced Gryffindor.

Neville jumped and wildly looked around nervously. He saw Ron approaching to him and gulped involuntarily. "Y-yeah," he nodded. "Why?"

"Nothing really," said Ron while shrugging. "I think my dad mentioned your family once."

"Oh," conceded Neville. "Is there anything you want from me?"

Ron blinked. "No. None in the slightest, now I think about it. Wait," he paused for a moment and noticed the nervous Gryffindow glancing to his right side where his wand was pocketed. He took out his wand from his pocket and saw Neville's eyes widened. He sighed. "Don't tell me you're thinking that I would hex you on spot, do you?"

"N-no! Not that!" denied Neville but his tone said otherwise.

"Look," said Ron exasperatedly, lowering his wand. "Just because I'm a Slytherin, it doesn't mean that I'm going to hex you on spot merely because you're in Gryffindor. Heck, my whole family's in Gryffindor, I'm sure you know that by that simple fact."

"Yeah, I know that," he said quietly. "It's just that –"

"I'm a Slytherin," finished Ron with a frown as he was about to put his wand back inside his pocket. "Alright, I get it, I –"

"What are you planning to do to Neville?" questioned a female voice not far away.

Both Ron and Neville jerked their heads and saw Hermione Granger marching her way toward them. She had a crossed look on her face, her bushy hair flying behind her. "Hermione –" called Neville.

Hermione stood between the two, facing Ron with her fullest height (or lack of it), and said, "I had enough of you Slytherins bullying other students – it's not right and certainly not amusing. Why don't you leave Neville alone –"

"Whoa, whoa," interrupted Ron. "For your information Granger, I'm not bullying Longbottom here –"

"Of course you're not bullying him," said Hermione sarcastically. "Then why are you holding your wand?"

Irritation rose inside Ron. "I'm just holding it! I'm not even planning on using it!" he said exasperatedly. "Besides, I'm about to put it away. Stop jumping to conclusions! Longbottom, will you tell her what really happened?"

"I – you see, Hermione –" Neville was too nervous, he couldn't produce a coherent sentence.

"You're pressuring him to say something that isn't true!" said Hermione hotly.

"I'm not! Merlin, you're absolutely maddening don't you know that? This is the second time I've spoken to you and it's blown out of proportion! It's a miracle someone's willing to talk to you –" bit out Ron, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

Tears threatened to spill out from Hermione's brown eyes. "Well you're horrible and rude! Completely different from your brother Percy!" she retaliated.

"Of course! Only you would think that Percy's the best conversationalist here at Hogwarts! Talking about academics and studying is a conversation! You've got to be the most boring person I've ever met, and that's saying something since Percy is boring." He said to her bluntly. "Thanks for explaining Longbottom," he shook his head and left the two.

* * *

><p>The following week arrived and it was Monday again. It was after lunch and all of the Slytherins were at the Quidditch pitch early. Ron arrived shortly before the Gryffindors came. He pointedly ignored the other House simply because of one person and it was Hermione. He was also sure that the know-it-all Gryffindor was ignoring him and it was better in his opinion. They were told by their flying instructor, Madam Hooch – a woman with short white hair and yellow sharp eyes like a hawk, to stand by the lying school brooms, stick out their hands and say "Up!" Ron's broom swiftly went to his hand and the boy grinned triumphantly. He noticed that only a quarter of the students from both Houses managed to summon the brooms, including Harry's and, unfortunately, Draco's. After a couple of minutes, all of them were holding their brooms.<p>

"On the count of three, two –" said Madam Hooch briskly.

Neville, who looked panicky from the beginning of the lesson, kicked off the ground too soon and was now in the air with a horrifying look.

"Come back here, Mr. Longbottom!" shouted Madam Hooch and everyone watched as Neville held onto his broom with dear life. Unfortunately, things had gotten worse for Neville as the broom flew higher and higher until he fell off the broom and was now on the ground, unconscious.

Harry, followed by Hermione and the rest of the Gryffindors, went to his side immediately as Madam Hooch checked for serious injuries. The Slytherins stayed on their spots and watched the scene in mild amusement, all except for Ron. When the flying instructor and Neville left the pitch with a warning to everyone not to fly until she returned, Draco let out a snide laugh with the other Slytherins. "Did you see his face, the great lump?"

"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom,?" crooned Pansy. "Never thought you'd like fat little cry-babies, Parvati."

"Look! It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him," Draco picked it up from the ground, smirking.

"Give that here Malfoy," said Harry quietly and everyone who heard him fell silent and watched.

Ron watched the scene unfold when the two rivals (it was fairly obvious from the beginning that the two would become like that) flew up in the air using the school brooms. Ron had to admit, Draco knew how to fly well but Harry was better and it was almost hard to believe that it was his first time (everyone knew that Harry Potter was raised by Muggles so it was expected that he didn't know how to fly a broomstick). He watched in interest as Harry swerved and spun until he caught the Remembrall with ease.

The Gryffindors cheered for Harry as they rushed to his side, congratulating him while the Slytherins had a sour look on their faces. Ron was impressed; Harry would be an excellent Quidditch player when he joined the Quidditch team of Gryffindor (but of course he knew that would happen. He already saw it).

The triumph of the Gryffindors soon stopped when Professor McGonagall strode across the lawn, her face white. "Mr. Potter – never in all my time at Hogwarts –" she spoke, her voice trembling.

"It wasn't his fault, Professor –" piped up Parvati.

"Be quiet, Miss Patil," said the professor abruptly.

"But Malfoy –" argued one Irish boy named Seamus Finnegan.

"That's _enough_, Mr. Finnegan," Professor McGonagall cut across him. She faced Harry, who was now nervous (if Ron was imagining things, a flicker of fear in his eyes), and said, "Potter, follow me, now."

When the two left the pitch, Draco said, "I guess that it's goodbye to Potter." And the Slytherins laughed.

Ron had a blank look on his face. He wasn't bothered with what just happened because he knew for certain that Harry wouldn't get expelled. Of course, he couldn't tell this to anyone or his secret would spill. "He's going to be fine," said Ron with a shrug.

It was already dinnertime and Ron was sitting at the end of the Slytherin table as usual. He was watching over the Gryffindor table, looking for Harry while ignoring Draco and his cronies who were recalling the scene. Ron finally found Harry who seemed to be in a hushed conversation with Neville who had an awestruck look on his face. The next thing he saw was that Draco strutted over there with Crabbe and Goyle by his side.

"What's he planning to do?" muttered Ron suspiciously before checking the time. He finished the remaining food from his plate and left the Great Hall to go to the Potions classroom. It was his first night of detention with Snape supervising the said punishment.

"Good evening Professor," said Ron quietly after closing the door.

Snape inclined a small nod and gestured him to come closer. "You will be cleaning the cauldrons –" with a flick of his wand, more than thirty black cauldrons appeared on one side of the classroom along with a scrub and tub of soapy water, "- of the second years and you will clean them without magic. Tomorrow, you will be cleaning the third years and another year up the following evening. I will check to see if you have done a good job. Is that clear, Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes sir," said Ron dully. Without waiting for a signal, he grabbed the scrub, plunged it in the tub first and began cleaning the nearest cauldron he could reach. He scrubbed each cauldron thoroughly, ignoring the strain building up in his hands and arms.

Snape, who was grading homework from his desk, gave him a five-minute break and by the time it was already ten in the evening, the older wizard ordered him to stop. He left his seat and checked the cauldrons that Ron cleaned in every corner and angle. Ron held his breath, waiting for his verdict. "Your work is acceptable," said Snape finally and Ron let out a relieved sigh. "You will come back tomorrow. Don't be late."

Ron nodded as he stood up.

Snape drew his wand again and the cleaned cauldrons vanished. "Come here," he said and Ron cautiously approached him. "Hand," he said shortly. The young Slytherin held out both of his dirty hands, wondering and nervous what he would do. He pointed his wand at them and said, "_Scourgify," _then the grime on Ron's hands vanished. "You may go," he said before turning his back.

As Ron walked out from the dungeons and in the middle of the empty hallway, he heard echoed footsteps from above, near the moving staircases. Curious, he turned around and followed the sounds until he saw three figures standing together. He approached them silently and his view of them got clearer; standing before him were Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, and to his dismay, Hermione Granger. They were arguing about something, seeing the disapproving look on Hermione's face, Neville's usual nervous expression, and Harry's defiant look.

They were heading toward the trophy room, Ron noticed. "What are you three doing?" he questioned without thinking much, causing the three to jump in shock.

"Weasley!" the three Gryffindors said in unison.

"Well? Aren't one of you going to answer my question?" said Ron as he raised an eyebrow.

Harry was about to speak when Hermione cut across him and said haughtily, "I could return the question to you. Why are you up this late?"

Ron scoffed. "I have a very valid reason why I'm up and it's none of your business what it is. Snape gave me an excuse note anyway," he held up a piece of parchment with Snape's signature. He pocketed it inside his robes before anyone could read what it was written. "So going back to you three, why are you here?"

"We're going to meet up with Malfoy at the trophy room and have a wizard's duel," prompted Harry. "Neville's my second."

Ron couldn't help but give them an incredulous look. "A wizard's duel? Are you kidding me? No offense but after two weeks with Malfoy as a fellow Housemate," Ron scrunched his nose in disgust, "it's likely that he's bluffing."

The three Gryffindors stared at him. "Are you serious?" questioned Harry, horror-struck.

"Well, yeah," said Ron while scratching the back of his head. "Malfoy wouldn't want to risk his precious neck to duel anyone just to get caught out of bed. And besides, Snape warned us on the first night that under no circumstances we'll get in trouble." _Well, except me._

"That explains it," huffed Hermione, crossing her arms. "I had a feeling he'd do such stunt. We should head back to Gryffindor –"

A low purr reverberated at the end of the corridor and the four students froze on spot. "It's Filch's cat!" gasped Neville.

"Let's go!" said Harry and the four of them ran as fast as they could. "Er - thanks for telling us," he said while huffing to breathe.

"It's nothing, I don't like Malfoy as much as you do," said Ron, trying to sound casual but his ears turned light red. "But I really don't need to run with you three, I already have –"

"Oh keep quiet," snapped Hermione between breaths.

Ron opened his mouth to retort but Neville gasped out, "Argue later! Just keep running!" They continued to run with all their might until they reached in front of the Charms classroom. "I – I – can't run – an-anymore," panted Neville as he collapsed on the floor on all fours.

"I don't think he'll catch us now," breathed Harry. "We're far enough from the trophy room."

Hermione shot a glare at the three and said, "_You_ should've listened to me. None of this would've happened if –"

"Who are you? Their mother?" snorted Ron. "It's their decision if they wanted to duel against someone. You're like an old woman who has nothing to do but berate people."

"At least I'm doing my best to do what's right," retorted Hermione. "You are being selfish and inconsiderate –"

"Because you are such a selfless person! I –" Ron stopped, moving his gaze upward. The three watched him curiously and followed his gaze. Their eyes widened in horror at the being floating above their heads.

"Ooh ickle firsties! What are you doing up tonight?" cackled Peeves the Poltergeist, hovering over them with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Maybe I should call someone –"

"No, no – don't tell anyone –" pleaded Neville.

"I don't think so. It's for your own good, after all," said Peeves in an oily tone. He took a deep breath and hollered, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED! DOWN HERE AT THE CHARMS CLASSROOM!"

"To hell with you, Peeves!" shouted Ron angrily to the poltergeist who cackled madly at them.

The four first years ran again as they heard the loud footsteps of Filch the caretaker and his mangy cat, Mrs. Norris. They quickened their pace and took a right turn where they saw a door at the end. Harry and Ron were the first to reach the door and began pulling it but to no avail, the door wouldn't budge. The footsteps were getting louder and everyone was panicking now. "We're done for!" cried Neville.

"Move over, you two!" said Hermione impatiently, pushing Harry and Ron aside and pulling out her wand. "_Alohomora!_" she said, pointing her wand at the handle.

The door flew open and the four students rushed inside with Ron closing the door shut. Ron sighed in relief but Neville let out a loud gasp. The rest turned to see what caused Neville to react and felt their stomachs plummeting down. "Oh bollocks," said the Slytherin. It just occurred to him and the rest that they were in the forbidden corridor that Dumbledore mentioned at the opening feast, and they knew perfectly why it was forbidden.

In front of them was a three-headed dog that was so huge it reached the ceiling. Also, it was wide awake, its three pairs of yellow eyes watching them without blinking while baring their sharp teeth.

Ron's mind had one thought: he rather had Filch catch him than become a chew toy, or worse, dog food, by a Cerberus.

For the next few seconds, Harry swiftly turned around, wrenching the door open and ran out with the others behind him. They closed the door in panic and sprinted away from the forbidden corridor as far as their legs could go. Finally they stopped at the second floor to breathe. "What made them decide to put a monster here at school," said Ron as he leaned against the wall. "This is mental, completely mental."

Neville didn't say anything for he was kneeling on the floor yet again, sweating profusely.

"Haven't you noticed what it's standing?" questioned Hermione suddenly. "Well?"

"Why should we look where that dog's standing? I'm too concentrated at the heads," said Harry, giving her an incredulous look.

"There was a trapdoor on the floor. The dog's obviously here because it's guarding something," said Hermione haughtily. "I hope that you're all glad that this happened -"

"Aren't you a cheery person?" scowled Ron. "Of course we're not glad that this happened! We almost became dog food by that thing!"

Hermione pointedly ignored him. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight Harry, Neville," with her nose in the air, she turned around and left the three boys.

"I can't believe her," Ron shook his head. "You're seriously mates with someone like her?" Both Harry and Neville nodded. "Tough luck to you two, I'm going back." He bid the two before heading back to the Slytherin dungeons. He finally arrived and silently made his way to the dormitory where all of his dorm mates were sound asleep. He changed his pyjamas, slid under the covers and closed his eyes. "Granger's such a nag," he mumbled sleepily and his dreams were filled with duels, giant spiders against a Cerberus, flashes of green light and Hermione's determined look.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Here's another one. This chapter covers Potions Master and Midnight Duel.<strong>_

_**Ron's first encounter with Hermione went haywire as usual. I think it's inevitable that they'll argue whenever they talk to each other because they think too differently. Hermione's attitude here can be deemed as OOC – I'm never good at portraying her to be honest but I'll fix it after a couple of chapters. The Golden Trio here is Harry, Hermione and Neville. I think a lot of people would prefer Neville instead of Ron it seems in every story I've read. It's a bit saddening sometimes due to how they write off Ron. **_

_**But anyway, Ron's a bit OOC here like Hermione but I'll explain. He's a bit more subdued since he spent most of his time alone so you have to expect that. I mean, outcasts do tend to end up being quiet and timid but Ron won't be totally timid because he has a lot of things in mind.**_

_**As for him learning ward spells (or warding spells), it might take him months before he can master one. They are rather complex and advance, right and there's a lot of time for him to learn it all. In all honesty, all of the defensive spells that were mentioned in the books didn't state its difficulty level so it's hard to pinpoint. Harry learned them at fourth year and he managed the Patronus Charm in third year but then again, Harry is an exceptional wizard. Ron might take a bit longer due to his magical core (but I'm also not sure how strong Ron really is so I can only guess).**_

_**Yeah, it's quite ironic that Ron here was the one who told Harry and the rest that Malfoy was bluffing since in canon he's the one who accepted Malfoy's challenge. But since he's in Slytherin, it's to be expected that he'll get to know some bits of his Housemates one way or another whether he liked it or not.**_

_**Ron might get a random vision in the next chapter but I'm not sure which person he'll have contact with. Who will it be? Next chapter will cover Halloween and Quidditch.**_


	5. Chapter 4

Three weeks had gone since Ron last spoke with Harry, Neville and Hermione. He didn't dare coming back to the forbidden corridor simply because he valued his life. His one-week detention under Snape was already over and he was having more time to learn ward spells. He began practicing the most basic spell that Bill pointed out for him through his letters but it was proven hard as he expected after practicing it continuously for almost a month. Though he was able to see a bit of improvement, he decided to stop at a moment and moved on to learning a new defensive spell: the Leg-Locker Curse. Like he did before, he would be using Crabbe and Goyle as targets.

He read the theory and memorized the wand movements first before venturing out and to find the two trolls. Ron was used to solitude now for over a month but even if he was used to it, it was sad to acknowledge that fact. Sometimes, he was mad for being sorted in Slytherin but it couldn't be helped. He wasn't sure what the House of Snakes would provide him in his need but he had to wait until that time would come.

He sighed deeply. "Why am I thinking it again?" he muttered in annoyance before setting his sight on his targets who appeared from one corner. Hiding behind a suit of armour, he whipped up his wand, pointed at them to say the incantation but Hermione's stern outburst caused him to lose concentration. "What the -?"

"What are you doing?" she demanded as she made her way toward him.

"What's it to you?" he said irritably. "Leave me alone –"

"You're going to hex someone, aren't you?" she said accusingly. "That's what you're doing, isn't it?"

He scowled at her. "Why don't you just go to the library and read a book? What I do is none of your business, Granger –"

"What seems to be the problem here?" a silky voice asked behind the two. It was Snape.

"Weasley's about to hex someone, sir," prompted Hermione and Ron threw a glare at her.

Snape had an unreadable expression on his face. "Is this true, Mr. Weasley?" he questioned, his lips barely moving.

"No, of course not sir. I would never do something _like that_." He lied plainly, mentally crossing his fingers.

"That settles then," sneered Snape, turning to face Hermione. "Five points from Gryffindor for trying to frame a fellow student."

"But Professor –" gasped Hermione, shocked of what he said just now.

"Say one more and I'll deduct another five," said Snape darkly to her. "Mr. Weasley, follow me." He turned his back on the young Gryffindor and marched away. Ron took a short glance on the girl's face before trailing after the Slytherin head. He led the young Slytherin inside an empty classroom and shut the door. "Well? Is Miss Granger telling the truth?" he asked suddenly, catching Ron off-guard.

"I – yes sir," admitted Ron. _I'm dead._

"Your reason for planning such action?"

"I wanted to see if I did the Leg-Locker Curse right," mumbled Ron as he looked down. For some reason, he knew it was futile to lie to someone like Snape. "I found it a week ago and I figured I should learn it just in case."

Snape gave him a steady look. "Mr. Weasley, what are the qualities of Slytherin?" he questioned.

"Cunning, resourcefulness, and ambition sir," answered Ron, looking confused.

"Then use those qualities," said the Potions master decisively. "I've already stated that under no circumstances that my students get caught that will result in docking of points or detention. Keep that in mind. Also, I advise that you choose another target, not your fellow Housemates." Another flick of his wand and the door opened. "Move along, Mr. Weasley."

Ron didn't need telling and scampered out of the room. He couldn't really believe his luck. "I should really be thanking my stars," he said to himself.

* * *

><p>Excitement filled the whole school as the last day of October arrived. Halloween had come and almost every corner of the castle was decorated with live bats, humongous jack-o-lanterns (courtesy of Hogwarts's gamekeeper, Hagrid), and other decors. Ron strolled around the castle, bored because he had nothing to do. He finally found himself at the school grounds near the lake, surveying the area with little to no interest but he was a glimpse of bushy hair from afar who turned out to be Hermione. A nagging voice spoke in his head, urging him to approach the girl and apologize.<p>

In a matter of seconds, his conscience won so he jogged his way to her and called out, "Oi! Granger!" Hermione stopped abruptly and looked back to see who called her. She frowned the moment she saw him and began walking again, this time faster. Ron scowled at her reaction and followed her until he finally overtook her pace. "Can't you stop walking when someone's trying to talk to you?"

"When that person is you, obviously the answer is no," said Hermione, her eyes flashing.

He opened his mouth to retort but stopped himself. _Calm down. Just say sorry. _"Look, I'm sorry that you got docked by Snape –"

"You should be," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"- and that I lied to save myself from getting detention –" continued Ron, annoyed that she had to insert comments.

"- which you shouldn't have done in the first place," she interjected.

"Will you stop interrupting me?" he said in frustration. "I'm trying to apologize here – I'm not exactly good at it." When Hermione didn't say a word, he drew a sigh and continued. "Granger, you don't know how it feels like to be in Slytherin. It's been two months and it already feels like hell in there, especially if you have Malfoy as a fellow Housemate."

"And your point of hexing innocent students?" questioned Hermione.

"Crabbe and Goyle aren't exactly 'innocent students' as you called it," said Ron while doing air quotations with his fingers. "Anyway, it's necessary for me to learn some spells so I can defend myself inside there. If you haven't noticed it yet, I'm practically an outcast." He ended bitterly.

Hermione watched him for a moment, her lower lip pursed. "You can just tell Professor Snape –"

"Oh I did," said Ron seriously. "but it didn't help much. In case you didn't know, Malfoy's father is one of the school governors here so he pretty has much influence – I know this because he keeps boasting it," he added, noticing that she was about to open her mouth. "All I'm saying is that I don't have much choice because if I don't learn, I'll get my arse kicked –" Hermione shot him a disapproving look for his wording, "- and I have pride so I'm not going to let myself get pushed around. So I'm asking you to –"

"- go blind-eye whenever you target anyone just to learn defensive spells?" finished Hermione testily.

"Not anyone," he scowled. "Just Crabbe and Goyle." _And Malfoy if I get the chance._

She looked away, contemplating. "I still don't agree with your method of learning," she said finally. "If I ever see you hexing _anyone_, I'll tell on you."

Ron grinned slightly. "So, truce?" he said as he held out his hand to her.

"Fine, truce," she agreed, accepting his hand and shaking it.

As their hands clasped together, Ron saw his surroundings change dramatically. _Not another one -!_ He groaned. The surroundings solidified until he realized it was the Hogwarts library. He saw an older Hermione of fourteen or fifteen (Ron presumed) reading a book in one of the tables. Then a round-shouldered burly boy who seemed to be of age, wearing different school robes he couldn't recognize approached her.

"_Hello," said the burly boy._ _"My name is –"_

"_Victor Krum, yes, I know who you are, everyone knows who you are," said Hermione with an eye roll. She shut the book abruptly and gave him an exasperated look. "Is there anything you need from me? I'm a bit busy here –"_

"_Vill you ve my date for ze Yule Vall?"_

_The older Hermione blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry, but what did you just say?"_

The distant voice of Hermione drew him back to reality and saw her giving him a puzzled look. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"I'm good," he replied, shaking his head lightly. "I just…remembered something that I have to do," he said vaguely to her. "I should go now." He gave her a nod and quickly left the area, not daring to glance at her expression. When he took a turn, he leaned against the wall and sighed deeply. "That was a weird one," Ron said. "Who knew someone would fancy Granger?" thinking about it, he mused to himself, "I guess I should write it down on the journal. It could be useful."

* * *

><p>The moon shone brightly in the dark sky and all of the students filled the Great Hall. It was Halloween and everyone was in high spirits. Ron, despite being alone, was happy too and enjoyed eating the delicious food that was set on the table. As everyone chattered and ate, the entrance doors blasted open and Quirell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor (whom Ron thought was a pathetic professor because he didn't learn much from him), strode inside, his face as pale as a ghost.<p>

The students fell silent, wondering and watching as the professor spoke. "Troll – in the dungeon," he gasped inaudibly. "Thought you might want to know." He collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

It took a few seconds before everyone could process the information. Then an uproar rose.

"Silence!" Dumbledore's loud voice shook inside the hall, effectively stopping the chaos that ensued. "All student prefects, guide the students back to the common rooms immediately."

Ron could see his older brother Percy looking alert and self-important as he called all first and second years to follow him. He looked away and saw the rest of the Slytherin House already moving. He heard one of the older students saying, "Why are we going back to our common room? Didn't Dumbledore remember we're located at the dungeons?" Ron stopped abruptly, his fear building up inside his chest.

"Don't be stupid," said the other one. "There are many dungeons in this school, the troll can be anywhere – if you haven't noticed, Quirell didn't come from the direction to our House."

"Oh right, didn't see that."

The fear inside Ron subsided but it didn't disappear. At the back of his mind, he had a feeling that one way or another, Fred's words about wrestling a troll would come true.

The next morning, all of the students were given a simple yet announcement regarding the troll incident. But rumours began floating around that three first years managed to defeat the said troll and all of them wanted to know who they were. The prefects from both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw assured that all of their first years were present when they returned to their common rooms. The Slytherin prefects, although snidely, stated that their first years didn't run off tackling trolls as it was a barbaric thing to do. And so it was concluded that the only House left was Gryffindor, the House of bravery and daring.

"The first years must be from that House –"

"- only they are crazy enough to brawl against fully-grown troll –"

"D'you think it's Potter and his friends?"

"Must be, he's the Boy-Who-Lived –"

Ron pushed his plate away after eating the last morsel of food and left the Slytherin table. "Seems that Fred's joke turned out to be true," he muttered as he walked out of the Great Hall and made his way to the Potions classroom. _Hm, I wonder if Fred has some seer blood in him too. Maybe I should ask him._ He also considered of learning more of his family's heritage other than memorizing the family tree (which was quite a feat since he knew he had many relatives from his father's side). However, the thought of researching made him feel ill; he tried not to do much work because it was killing him to boredom. But then again, he was already researching ward and defensive spells other than schoolwork.

Although the troll incident piqued the minds of the students, it was all pushed aside as the Quidditch season was fast approaching. The Quidditch fans were all excited but their excitement could not overwhelm the rising tension between Slytherin and Gryffindor. It was already decided that the debut game of the season was Slytherin versus Gryffindor and everyone knew how tense and extreme it would be.

A week before the game, students from both Houses threw hexes and jinxes at each other, most especially between the two teams. Usually the Slytherins were the first ones to start the debacle, firing nasty spells suddenly in the hallway or corridor. The Gryffindors didn't back down; the moment they were attacked, they would retaliate with equal or meaner hexes. But by the end of the day, no one would win. Ron did his best to avoid it but considering that he was a Slytherin, it was impossible.

"Oi! Watch where you're shooting those spells at!" he hollered angrily at one second year Gryffindor.

"What are you going to do about it, firsty?" taunted the second year.

"Who're you anyway?" said Ron rudely, baring his teeth in anger.

"Cormac McLaggen," he answered pompously. "You better remember that –"

"Oh I will," Without warning, Ron whipped out his wand and shouted, "_Petrificus Totalus!"_ the spell hit the second year right on the chest; the second year's body turned stiff as a board and fell on the floor helplessly. "See you later git," he sneered at him. Walking hastily down the hallway, he stuffed his wand back inside his robes, scowling. "Stupid Gryffindor."

"And which Gryffindor are you calling stupid, ickle Ronniekinns?" Fred's voice drifted from Ron's right.

"Hullo Fred," greeted Ron, his voice lacking enthusiasm.

"Aren't you cheery today?" George said suddenly, appearing on Ron's right.

"Obviously," he muttered under his breath. "So, what do you want from me?"

"What makes you think that we want something from you?" Fred raised an eyebrow. "It's been a long time since we last saw you. You've been pretty much out of sight."

"Anyway, who're you talking about earlier?" continued George.

"It doesn't matter, really," shrugged Ron (he didn't want them to know what he did earlier). "Just to let you know, I'll be cheering you guys next week. You ought to beat the Slytherin team or I'll be quite ashamed you're my brothers." He only said this because he didn't want to dwell on the issue any longer. But then again, he really wished for them to win.

The twins smirked. "Of course we're going to win the game. With our new seeker, we're unbeatable."

"You mean Potter?" drawled Ron, earning bugged looks from the two. "So the rumours are true, eh?"

"Well, secrets are hard to keep here at Hogwarts," shrugged Fred.

'Yeah, it's rather pointless to deny it anyway," added George. "We'll see you next week at the game, alright?"

"You will," grinned Ron slightly. "I'm going to enjoy seeing Malfoy's sour look."

* * *

><p>The day of the game between Gryffindor versus Slytherin had finally arrived. Students were heading their way to the Quidditch stands to get some good seats. As expected, both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students were rooting for Gryffindor to win. It didn't matter to the Slytherins though because they won the Quidditch Cup seven times in a row as well as the House Cup. It was quite obvious how serious the other three were at beating the House of Serpents, be it Quidditch or House Cup but Slytherin would make sure that they would take the first place no matter what.<p>

When both teams appeared inside the Great Hall, all Houses were making all sorts of noises. Ron could see Harry being a nervous wreck while his fellow Gryffindors tried to coax and feed him some breakfast. The redhead left the table after having his fill and walked leisurely out to the Quidditch stands.

He secured his silver and green scarf around his neck as the cold breeze hit his skin. He clambered up the stands until he found a good seat that was in-between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Ron observed the whole place, taking in all the details. _How I wish I could be there playing in a few years,_ he thought gloomily. He wondered if one of the visions he had about Harry would happen this time but he remembered that the weather wasn't horrible and the dementors weren't around (although he wondered why they were at Hogwarts in the first place).

Within minutes, the whole stadium was filled. He listened to the commentator, Lee Jordan, his older twin brothers' best friend, introduced both teams as they marched out on the pitch. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger sitting a few seats away from him. Averting his gaze from them, he watched eagerly as one of the Gryffindor Chasers scored. He mentally let out a whoop, pleased that they earned the first score. He didn't notice Hermione gasping and whispering importantly to Neville whose eyes widened.

"You could've said excuse me!" hollered Ron at the bushy-haired Gryffindor who passed him by. He was getting into the game when one person had to ruin it: Draco Malfoy and his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. "If it isn't Weasel and Fatbottom," he sneered at the two.

Neville stiffened slightly while Ron's eye twitched, trying his best to pay attention on the game.

"You know, it's a shame you didn't get sorted to Gryffindor just like the rest of your family," drawled the pale boy. "Just look at Potter, he has no family –"

Ron clenched his fist, not noticing Neville's face going pale. His eyes were concentrated on Harry who seemed to be having trouble riding his broom.

"- and you Fatbottom have no brains –"

"Shut it, Malfoy," growled Ron, trying his best to calm down and watch the game.

Draco turned to him, a malevolent smirk appeared on his face. "and you, Weasel, have no money. Shame that you're a pureblood but you're just as worse as those filthy Muggles –"

"Hey Malfoy, can I ask you something?" Ron said through gritted teeth.

"If you're asking for money, I won't give –" said Malfoy smugly.

"No, not that," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "Are you good at dodging?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I know how to dodge, especially Bludgers since I was taught -" sneered the pale boy.

"Let's see if you can dodge this one!" Ron spun around and punched Malfoy hard in the face. Neville stared at them, wide-eyed as the two Slytherins throttled each other with Ron gaining the upper hand. When Crabbe and Goyle tried to help Malfoy, Neville hesitated but decided to join the brawl by taking on Crabbe and Goyle.

When Jordan happily announced that Gryffindor won with Harry catching the Snitch, Ron roared in delight before punching Malfoy one more time. "Ha! Take that, you slimy git!" he said triumphantly to the now-black eyed Malfoy. He was grinning from ear to ear, happy that his brothers' team won the game against his House (which he didn't support at all). Ron left the stadium in high spirits, replaying the scene of giving Malfoy a black eye.

But all of that ended when he was summoned to Snape's office for the second time. Madam Pomfrey from the Hospital Wing removed the bruises and bumps on his face when he went there after the match earlier. He knocked on the door first and entered as he heard Snape's voice from inside.

"Mr. Weasley," said Snape without emotion, sitting behind the desk.

Ron could only give a short nod and sat down on the chair in front of the desk.

"I hope that I won't be expecting to see you in this office again but it seems that you have a habit of getting yourself in trouble," said Snape malignantly. "You fought against Mr. Malfoy during the game, along with Mr. Longbottom who tried to attack Mr. Crabbe and Goyle. Do you have anything to say about this?"

"He started it -" said Ron a bit bravely but Snape cut across him.

"I've told you twice that none of my students should get in trouble but you are not taking it in stride," he hissed.

"Sir, I tried –" began Ron.

"You're not trying hard enough," said Snape severely. "It doesn't matter who started it – the fact that you keep getting yourself caught in situations that doesn't give the House of Salazar a good image –"

_It doesn't from the very beginning,_ thought Ron mutinously.

Snape's eyes flashed. "Mr. Weasley, you are a Slytherin. You are under my House, therefore you are to follow my rules. You're not a Gryffindor, a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw. Accept that little fact." He stood up from his seat and hovered over Ron, casting a large shadow on him. "You will be given another week of detention –" Ron winced, "- and your task is to clean the whole Owlery with no magic."

The redhead opened his mouth but shut it. It was obvious that arguing was futile. "Yes, sir." _You are such a bat. My brothers are right –_

"I suggest you stop your mind from drifting off to meaningless things," said Snape suddenly, his lips curling into a sneer. "The schedule of your detention will be informed to you tomorrow. You may leave."

Ron nodded curtly and left the office as quickly as possible. "He's impossible," he muttered to himself. "It's like he can read minds. But that's not possible, right?" Shaking his head, he turned to one corner and ran off. It was proven that being in Slytherin was getting more difficult for him than in any other House.

The young redhead was already in front of the Slytherin dungeons, holding his wand firmly and feeling more cautious and nervous than ever. Slytherin lost to Gryffindor at Quidditch and it wasn't a good time to cause any more trouble. He gave out the password and entered inside, sensing everyone's glares boring on him. Ron clenched his jaw and looked on ahead; he knew that since his older brothers were part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, he would be subjected to their anger at some point.

Thankfully, none of them made any move at him so he managed to arrive in the dormitory and shut the door behind him. The moment he did that, he knew he would be facing another problem. His dorm mates.

"We've been waiting for you," growled Draco, his face masked with anger. The black eye he had given to him was already gone and so were the other bruises. Ron could tell he also went to the Hospital Wing to get them removed.

"I didn't realize you guys are waiting for me," said Ron sarcastically. "How flattering –"

"Shut your mouth, Weasel," he snarled. "You're going to pay for what you've done –"

"I expected that as much," sneered Ron. "Well? Are you going to order your idiotic bodyguards to charge at me? You're pathetic," he crooned, goading the other boy. "You can't even do it yourself."

Draco flushed deeply but recovered. "At least I'm more superior than you," he retorted. "Crabbe, Goyle, get him."

Ron took out his wand but a red flash shot out from Draco's behind, knocking it out from his hand. His eyes widened and looked ahead to see Zabini smirking with his wand out. He tried to grab his wand back but the two bulky boys held him firmly and painfully. "Don't touch me, you disgusting pieces of -!" he snarled at the two.

Draco's fist collided against his face, effectively stopping his words. Ron blinked a couple of times to shake off the pain and the dizziness but saw a different space in front of him. He was in a dreary-looking bathroom and kneeling in front of one of the sinks was an older Draco Malfoy. What shocked him was that the pale blonde-haired boy was crying. Hovering above him was a bespectacled young female ghost wearing a Hogwarts uniform and she was comforting him.

"_I can help you – just tell me –" she said in a coaxing voice._

"_No, I have to do this – if I can't, he'll kill me –" he said croakily, looking up. His eyes were dull and dark, his face hollow, and his skin paler than before. His eyes darted to the other side of the area and Ron saw an older Harry watching, wide-eyed at him. He scrambled to his feet, his wand pointing at him and said "Cru –"_

_The older Harry was quicker; waving his wand wildly at him, he shouted, "Sectumsempra!"_

_The unknown spell hit Draco right on the chest; blood spurted out from the wounds that seemed to be slashed or hacked by an invisible sword. Draco gasped as he fell down and his blood seeped down, spreading copiously on the floor like running water._

Ron felt a surge of pain near his lungs and the image of the dormitory returned. From what Ron could tell, Draco kicked him instead of using his fists. "Good, you're still awake," drawled Draco. "We wouldn't want you to sleep us off, you see." He clenched his fist and punched Ron again in the face.

Another vision occurred and Ron saw an older Draco screaming while writhing on the carpeted floor. He wasn't alone inside the room; Ron realized it was the very same dark-haired woman in one of the visions he had from Harry.

"_You are not trying hard enough, dear nephew," said the dark-haired woman, lowering her wand and dispelling the curse on him. Her eyes were dark and unfeeling. It didn't seem that seeing her nephew screaming in pain bothered her at all._

"_I am," said Draco through gritted teeth, kneeling on all fours and trying to stand up._

"_Then try harder," she raised her wand at him and shrieked, "Legilimens!"_

As if the spell struck him, Ron's vision blurred until he was back in reality. The redhead watched the present Draco steadily until a manic smirk appeared on his lips, which unnerved Draco and the others. "What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Do you know what is one of the most popular sayings in the Muggle world?" he asked him, still smirking.

"Why should I know? Only filthy blood-traitors like you know that –" said Draco rudely.

"I'll tell you then so you'll learn,' said Ron, his eyes darkening slightly as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. "'What comes around, comes around', remember that. One day, you'll get what's coming at you and the others and you'll regret everything you've done for the rest of your life –"

"Shut your mouth!" Draco growled, raising his fist but Ron couldn't help but laugh. "Stop laughing you crazy blood-traitor!" With one last blow, Ron was on the floor, his face bruised and bloodied. Crabbe and Goyle had let go of him due to boredom since he wasn't struggling. "Filthy blood-traitor," he spat at him before turning away.

The lights inside the dormitory closed and everyone except Ron went to bed (Draco went to the bathroom first to clean his hands since he didn't want dirty blood on himself). Ron gritted his teeth, determined not to let out any sound pass his lips. He crawled over to his trunk, opened it and took out his journal once again. He wrote down the visions he had without stopping, feeling his blood seep down from his lips and the pain from every part of his body. When he was done, he hid it inside the trunk. He took a short glance on everyone's beds, their curtains covering them from view. "You'll all pay for this, I'm sure." He said darkly.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ron had it coming, really so I had to write it down. He can't always get away from them or that'll be too weird. Hm, Draco punching…well, he wasn't good at spells yet and from what I know, he knows some not-so defensive spells like the Talantalegra, Leg-Locker, possibly Rictumsempra, and other not fatal spells that a common first and second year would know. And besides, an eye for an eye, right?<strong>_

_**I guess he'll take a lie-low approach in the next chapter but it depends. Next chapter will cover Mirror of Erised, Nicholas Flamel and possibly Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback.**_

_**And before I end this AN, I've read or heard that Draco did know Occlumency and the one who taught was no other than Bellatrix and I used that bit as a vision Ron would see. Bellatrix is more brutal at teaching than Snape, don't you think?**_

_**Need a beta-reader here!**_


	6. Chapter 5

Ron limped across the corridor, wincing as he took each step. He wasn't able to sleep well with his face and body throbbing in pain. Before the sun had risen, he already left the Slytherin dungeons to go to the Hospital Wing. He had a feeling he would be going there a lot of times in the next six years at Hogwarts.

He didn't bother sending a letter to his parents or inform any of this older brothers or professors about what happened. Ron knew it was futile to blame on Draco whose father was one of the school governors and most influential figures in the Wizarding community, especially at the Ministry despite not working there. As sad and painful it was to accept it, his own father wouldn't stand a chance against Draco's father and it would risk his job, causing more problems to the family. Ron wouldn't want that to happen.

Stopping his tracks, he knocked on the door and entered inside, hoping Madam Pomfrey was awake and that she wouldn't question him where he earned the injuries. To his relief, she didn't ask much other than who did to him, to which he answered he fell down the stairs. Luckily enough, he was allowed to sleep in the Hospital Wing for a couple of hours and he took the offer the moment she said it. As promised by Madam Pomfrey, he was woken up around eight in the morning, prompting him to head down to breakfast at the Great Hall. Ron was greeted with sneers from his fellow Housemates and he returned the same gesture.

Ron stayed silent throughout the whole day, speaking only when necessary. He wasn't in the mood to practice any spells and brooded by himself. This went by for the next two weeks, making him almost unnoticed by everyone else. He was already done with the second detention he had from Snape who assigned Filch the caretaker to oversee the detention.

But during those two weeks, he took a lot of time thinking of what he was supposed to do; he knew what his goal was and that was to save his family. He had no idea how to save them in his honest opinion (he was only eleven years old), but he would do anything to keep them safe from harm. Ron knew at some point that in a few years' time, a war would commence and a lot of lives would be taken away. All of this was due to his ability of seeing the future of others. It was hard enough that he was only by himself to do this but he couldn't tell anyone what he knew because it would cause more problems.

When it was already December, the whole castle was filled in joyous spirits. Every corner of the castle was adorned with Christmas decors, creating a warm atmosphere among the students. Ron received a letter from his parents that they planned to visit Charlie at Romania and spend Christmas there. They asked if they would like to come, Ron read. His older brothers already decided to spend the holidays at Hogwarts, having their own reasons. In his decision, he sent a letter to his parents, telling them that he wanted to go with them.

On the first day of the third week, most of the student population were at the Hogsmeade station with their belongings. Ron was one already in one of the compartments, hoping he wouldn't have to deal with his Housemates or anyone at the moment (which he doubted at some point). During the train ride, Ron sat beside the window, reading his journal on his lap. He decided, after much thought, that he would still prioritize his family above else and if it was still possible, others if the opportunity arise.

As he read, the door slid open and much to his shock and anger, Theodore Nott entered without excusing himself. "What are you doing here?" he snarled at him.

"What do you think?" he asked back nonchalantly, taking the opposite side. He shot a glance at the opened journal that Ron hastily shut and hid it from him. "Never thought you're a diary person," he commented.

"It's not a diary, it's a journal," said Ron defensively. "And stop changing the subject – what are you doing here?"

"I need a quiet place to stay in for a while," he answered while shrugging. "There's no empty compartment and this one is the closest thing I can get," he told him.

"Well, I don't like you here so get out," said Ron harshly.

"You're not the boss of me," said the weedy boy smoothly. He took out a thin book from his robes and began to read, much to Ron's chagrin. "I'm not going to bother you Weasley so drop the glare," he added without looking up.

Ron opened his mouth to say something mean to him but thought otherwise. Out of all of his Housemates, Theodore Nott didn't do anything bad to him. In fact, he was quiet and inconspicuous most of the time. But that didn't make him any less mean because he didn't take any actions whenever Draco and his cronies did something wrong. The two didn't say anything to each other, silence weighing heavily between them. But after sometime, Ron couldn't help but blurt out, "Why did you choose me as a Potions partner?"

Theodore glanced toward his direction and watched him. "I believe it's obvious why I chose you," he said shortly.

"Why? Because I'm a pureblood and you wouldn't want to associate yourself with half-bloods and Muggleborns?" he said sarcastically.

"That's one reason," said Theodore, earning a scowl from the redhead. "Other reason is that you're a better partner than Crabbe or Goyle and I don't like to fail in any of my subjects." He finished. "Is that a sufficient answer for you?"

Ron glared at him but turned away. "Typical Slytherin," he muttered mutinously. "Shouldn't you go back to Malfoy and his stupid cronies?"

"They'll do fine without me," he said casually. "I'm not like Crabbe or Goyle who can't think for themselves."

The young redhead couldn't help but snort at this. "That's what you like to think," he said snidely before ignoring the weedy boy again. The rest of the ride went somewhat awkward and tense but thankfully for Ron, Theodore decided to leave and return with the other Slytherins without a word. The sky darkened and snow began to fall from the sky once again, creating a mystifying feel outside the window. As the train finally arrived at King's Cross station, Ron clambered down the train without wearing any scarf or mittens to protect him from the cold.

The feel of the snow on his skin shivered him but he shrugged it off as his eyes casted over the crowd, looking for his parents. When he saw a glimpse of fiery red hair few feet away, he strode toward the direction while dragging his trunk. His parents greeted him with a smile, causing for the young boy to smile in return.

"Oh I've missed you so much," said Mrs. Weasley, embracing him tightly. "Why aren't you wearing your scarf? You're going to catch a cold –"

"I don't like green," said Ron simply, earning wry looks from his parents. "How are you Gin?"

"I'm good," said Ginny. "You're going to tell me all about Hogwarts, right?"

Ron grinned widely. "Of course I will," he said. He wouldn't tell them the bad things that happened because he didn't want them to worry too much. The four left the platform and arrived home after a few minutes. Ron entered inside the Burrow and looked around, missing the place very much. "I'm hungry," he said. "Is there something to eat?"

* * *

><p>As promised, Ron told Ginny all of the things he could tell and remember about Hogwarts from the ghosts to the subjects. Ginny, after hearing them, declared that she liked Charms very much as a subject, followed by Transfiguration. He told her the Quidditch games that he watched with the most notable story about Gryffindor winning against Slytherin. For the following days, the two played together – Exploding Snap, Gobstones, Wizarding Chess, and among other things. Ron missed everything at the Burrow and even playing with his younger sister was a lot better than playing Wizarding Chess alone at Hogwarts.<p>

Three days after staying at the Burrow, the family set off to Romania using an international Portkey issued from the Department of Magical Transportation of the Ministry of Magic. The Weasley family appeared in front of a vast castle up in the mountains with their trunks. Ron landed on the cold stone floor with his bottom, letting out a groan. "You'll get the hang of it," said Mr. Weasley to him with a smile as he helped his son stand up. "Are you two all right?"

"We're fine," said Mrs. Weasley who stood tall with Ginny by her side, their hands clasped together.

Mr. Weasley took a step forward and knocked on the wooden door twice. A sound of footsteps was heard from the inside, getting louder by the second until it stopped. The door swung open and standing from the inside was another redhead like them. He was stocky-built with broad shoulders and strong arms, but despite that, he had a good-natured look on his face. "You're on time," he said with a grin. "Come on in."

The four entered inside and Ron looked around, gazing at everything he could see. Ginny seemed to be doing the same thing, her eyes filled with curiosity and interest. "Where are the dragons, Charlie?" he asked.

The older brother named Charlie turned to him and said with a laugh, "You won't be seeing the grown ones. But if you behave well, I might show you the infants and the eggs," he told the two.

Ron and Ginny both pouted but agreed.

Charlie gave them a small tour of the building that was in fact a dragon reservation center for a while after showing them their rooms that were located in a nearby building. Ron got to stay with Charlie's room much to his delight and hoped to hear any good stories from him. They spent the rest of the day catching up, telling each other of what happened to them in their lives. Charlie gave an indication of surprise when he was told that Ron ended up in Slytherin but his attitude toward him didn't change.

They had dinner at the dining area and Charlie introduced them to his fellow colleagues who were quite friendly in Ron's opinion. When the clock struck to nine-thirty, Mrs. Weasley ushered the two young children to sleep. Ron wanted to stay up but his eyelids were heavy. He nodded sleepily, going up the stairs to Charlie's room.

He had already changed to his pyjamas but before he could lie in, he heard his parents and Charlie's distant voices from his right. Curious, he went over in front of the room and listened in. "- did that happen?" Charlie's voice questioned to his parents.

"The Sorting Hat believed that putting Ron in Slytherin will be good for him," came the voice of Mr. Weasley.

"How will putting him there make it good? We're blood-traitors Dad and that won't be good to Ron's standing in Slytherin," refuted Charlie. Ron had a grim look on his face; what Charlie said was spot on. He was having a more than a harder time being in Slytherin.

"I know that," said Mr. Weasley exasperatedly, hearing the weariness in his voice. "But we can't do anything else – we can't pull him out."

"Of course you can," insisted Charlie. "We can home-school him, or we can transfer him to another school –"

"But Charlie dear, the next closest school is in Norway," cut across Mrs. Weasley. "I don't want him to be far away –"

"Well, I'd rather if he was away, instead of associating with any students directly connected to alleged Death Eaters and pureblood supremacy supporters," said Charlie darkly. Ron felt his throat had gone dry; didn't his own older brother have any faith in him? That he won't become anyone of his Housemates? Thoughts filled his mind and he saw himself being pushed away by his own siblings and his parents, disowned and unloved.

His eyes began to sting when he heard his father's response. "Have faith in Ron, he's not going to be like them. You and I know both well that he is raised to know what is right and wrong. Yes, I admit, I'm worried but I trust he'll make the right decisions –"

Ron withdrew and walked away, entering Charlie's room and slipping under the covers of the makeshift bed. He closed his eyes, trying and failing to sleep.

* * *

><p>The visit at Romania lasted until four more days. Ron acted as if he hadn't heard of anything. He played with his sister, ate the food with gusto, listened to his older brother's recent happenings, and everything else. The words of Charlie repeated in his mind; Ron knew his older brother only said that merely because he was worried for him and not because he would become a dark wizard by staying at Slytherin too long. Even so, it hurt him to say the least that he had little confidence in him.<p>

Despite what he heard, he didn't want that to ruin his stay at Romania. He learned a lot about dragons from Charlie and his colleagues' knowledge. On the last day shortly before they leave, Ron got an extra gift from Charlie; a small bottle filled with sea blue liquid. "What's this?" asked Ron curiously.

Charlie smiled slightly. 'It's quite rare, mind you, so you have to use it only when necessary,' leaning to his ear, he whispered, "The liquid you see is actually dragon blood –" Ron's eyes widened, "- from a rare breed so I'm sure its properties are more enhanced than most dragon blood."

"Why -?"

"Just to let you know, I trust you," interrupted Charlie. "You're tougher than our other siblings give you credit and," he paused for a moment and said finally, "take care of yourself, alright? Send me an owl if you need anything."

Ron watched his brother intently, trying to see if he was being sincere or otherwise. Then he smiled gratefully. "Sure, I'll do that," he said to him, pocketing the bottle in his front pockets.

Charlie reached out his hand and ruffled Ron's hair. Ron was a bit taken aback when a vision occurred.

_He watched Charlie walking briskly inside the reservation center until he arrived inside the lobby where his colleagues were at the moment and said, "Guess who owled me? Nah, I'll tell you. It's Harry Potter!"_

"The_ Harry Potter?" repeated a brunette whom Ron recognized as Clarabelle. "You serious?"_

"_Definitely," grinned Charlie. "Apparently, Hagrid – he's the gamekeeper I've mentioned before – managed to own a Norwegian Ridgeback –" the others raised eyebrows "- and Potter asked if we can take the dragon from them and take care of it here."_

"_You already know the answer, Charles," said an old man who just entered inside the lobby. Ron distinctively remembered him as the head of the Dragon Reservation Center. "Reply to Mr. Potter and tell him that we'll take the dragon here."_

After that, the vision faded out until Ron was back in his surroundings. "You alright?" asked Charlie in concern. "Do you feel dizzy?"

"I'm fine," said Ron convincingly. He watched him for a moment and added, "You really like your job, don't you?"

Charlie grinned widely. "Of course I do. Never trade it for anything else."

"That's nice," he nodded. "Good things to happen to those who did well. In your case, you might be able to take of a new dragon if that were to happen," he said in a joking sort of way.

"I hope so," his older brother said, his eyes now misty.

The four bade Charlie and his fellow colleagues before taking the portkey. Ron finally opened his eyes and found himself inside the office of the Department of Magical Transportation. He and the others left the Ministry and returned home by Floo. Ron picked up his things and went straight to his room before locking the door.

"I wonder what will happen next to Potter," mused Ron as he opened his journal and began writing. "He gets into a lot of trouble."

The remaining two days of Christmas holidays made Ron gloomy and withdrawn. It wasn't the idea of coming back to Hogwarts that disheartened him, but the thought of staying at the Slytherin dungeons with his dorm mates once again made him become like that. But repeating the words of Charlie gave him strength at some point. He promised himself that he won't get pushed around any of them and that he won't be influenced greatly either. To keep his mind off things, he decided to search for some old family books on the last day. He had almost forgotten about it and it was good that he remembered it on the last minute.

He had found the two books he needed after shuffling things inside the shed for almost two hours. He stealthily brought it up to his room without being caught by his parents, especially Ginny, who was very curious in nature, and began reading it.

Apparently, there weren't any seers in the Weasley bloodline after reading the whole book (Ron got annoyed because it felt as though he wasted a lot of time) and surprisingly found one in the Prewett bloodline from his mother's side. As he read, he learned that a seer would emerge once in every seven generations. There wasn't much information but it was still better than nothing. He made a mental note to locate a book about seers at the Hogwarts library. Though it seemed like more work, it was important to find out.

The following day was almost as hectic as the starting school year; Ron and his father arrived at King's Cross fifteen minutes before eleven and he was given bacon and ham sandwich (the one he liked) this time from his mother. Before Ron could get inside the train, his father placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Ron, this may come a bit late but –"

"Dad," interrupted Ron. "I'm going to fine," he said as he determinedly gazed into his father's eyes without showing any fear or hesitation. "Don't worry too much."

"You don't –"

"I'm a Weasley," he continued. "I can take care of myself." He put on a grin on his face before entering the train. The whistle blew loudly across the platform and remaining students on the platform began clambering inside the Hogwarts Express. He poked his head out the window to see his father one more time and waved at him furiously as. the figure of Mr. Weasley grew smaller until he was out of sight. Ron pulled his head back inside the compartment and drew a deep sigh, knowing that in a couple of hours, he'd be back and sleep along with the rest of the Slytherins.

The door slid open suddenly, causing Ron to jump in his seat, and saw Neville and Hermione standing in front of the entrance. "What?" he asked in reaction.

"We're – er – we're hoping –" began Neville with his usual stammer but Hermione beat him to it.

"The other compartments are full so we're hoping we can stay here," said Hermione promptly with a hint of bossiness in her voice.

"Where did you two sit on the last train ride?" questioned Ron, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"With the rest of our Housemates," replied Hermione stiffly.

"Then why don't you two go there?" he suggested, earning an irritated look from her.

"They're too noisy and –" she stopped for a moment and finished abruptly, "- we just need some peace and quiet."

Ron stared at her. That was the very same reason Theodore Nott had given him. Suppressing the urge of telling them off, he said slowly, "Fine, you can stay."

Neville sighed in relief and went to sit at the opposite side with Hermione. Ron couldn't help but twitch at the sight of the two; though it was sort of nice that he had company inside the compartment, it had to be the two best mates of Harry Potter and he knew enough it would not bode well in his case. The three didn't say anything with each other at all that it was becoming awkward and tense, and each one didn't know how to act. After what seemed to be an hour, Neville blurted out, "Do you want to play something?"

Hermione, whose attention was focused on a thick book she was currently reading, said, "No thank you."

Neville slumped a bit before casting a short glance toward Ron. "Do you?"

"Er," Ron paused, unsure what to respond. "You play chess?"

"Yeah, I'm an okay player I think," said Neville, flushing slightly.

"We'll see about that," Ron took out his battered wizarding chess set from his trunk and he and Neville began to play, with Ron taking the black pieces while Neville chose the white ones. Ron expected that the game would last around ten to fifteen minutes most but Neville proved to him otherwise. He had to admit to himself, Neville was a good chess player despite his timid nature. After almost thirty-one minutes, Ron won the game. "You're pretty good," he said as he watched his black bishop knocking out the white king.

"Thanks," Neville smiled shyly.

From the corner of his eyes, Ron saw Hermione giving the chess set a distasteful look "What's with that look?"

"Wizarding chess is barbaric," she said stiffly, her nose in the book she's reading.

"No, it isn't," Ron rolled his eyes. He waited until both black and white pieces pulled themselves together again before looking up to Neville. "Who taught you how to play chess?"

"My Uncle Algie," he answered. "I don't have cousins who are near my age – the closest is around twelve years, so it's hard to relate with them."

"Must be a boring life," mused Ron. "I'll take the white pieces this time, you'll take the black one."

Neville nodded and the two played again. After three rounds, Ron still won. "You're really good," he said to him. "Who taught you? He must be good."

"Or she," added Hermione without looking up.

Ron suppressed a snort. "My older brother Bill taught me how to play this game. He said it's good to have another hobby other than Quidditch. He said it's just as challenging because it's based in strategy." He put his chess set away and remarked, "It's almost lunch time."

The three ate inside the compartment, with Hermione only speaking to Neville in hushed tones that annoyed Ron to a certain point. Shortly after Ron was done eating his sandwiches, the door opened for the second time and much to Ron's aggravation, Draco Malfoy strutted inside the compartment with his cronies Crabbe and Goyle. "Well you look at that," he mocked. "We're at the loser compartment." On cue, Crabbe and Goyle chuckled trollishly. "I can't believe you'd stoop that low, Weasley, sitting with them."

"Yeah, if this is the loser compartment, why are you here?" said Ron sarcastically. "Do you want to join us? I'm sure you'll fit in as a loser just fine. You actually passed the requirements. And besides, what I did is called courtesy, letting them stay here. I thought you know that but I guess I was wrong."

Draco glowered at him before saying, "You better watch what you're saying Weasley, you don't want _that_ to happen to you again, do you?"

It was Ron's turn to glare furiously at him. "I don't really care, Malfoy. At least I don't go screaming to Mummy or Daddy every time when something wrong happens. So who's the wimp? You or me?" Shaking his head, he said to him boringly, "Now that you've made your stupid entrance, get out of here or I'll make you leave."

Draco curled his lips, sneering at him. "You're disgracing the name of Salazar Slytherin, associating with filths like them." As he said this, he gestured without care toward Hermione and Neville who were tight-lipped and stiff.

"It's the other way around, Malfoy," growled Ron, standing up. "If you ask me, people like you are the ones disgracing the name of Slytherin. I'm not going to repeat myself, leave or I'll make you." He drew out his wand, earning a gasp from Neville, and pointed it threateningly under Draco's chin. "Now."

"You're going to regret this, I swear Weasley," he said menacingly before leaving the compartment with Crabbe and Goyle in tow.

Soon after the three left, Hermione faced Ron and said, "You shouldn't have bothered with them. It's pointless –"

"That's what you think," cut across Ron. "You don't know what goes on inside Slytherin so you better stay out and mind your own business, Granger. I mean it."

"If you –" began Hermione hotly.

"Hermione, stop it," said Neville suddenly, surprising Ron. "He's right. It's not our right."

The bushy-haired Gryffindor opened her mouth to speak but closed it. "You have a point," she said slowly, biting her lower lip. "We'll mind our own business." She sat down, opened her book again and read on where she stopped. Neville sent Ron an apologetic look, which Ron accepted it with a small nod in return.

The rest of the ride returned to its awkward and tense atmosphere. As the clock struck to six in the evening, the Hogwarts Express came to a full stop, signalling everyone inside that they reached their destination. Hermione stuffed the book inside her trunk and left the compartment without a word. "Er, thanks for letting us stay here," said Neville meekly to Ron.

"No problem," shrugged Ron. "Just next time, find a compartment before anyone else gets it." He let Neville leave first before going out himself. He took the last carriage on his own and watched the scenery with little interest until he arrived in front of the school grounds. He got off from the horseless carriage and entered inside the castle, feeling the warmth enveloping him.

* * *

><p>The cold weather grew fainter as March arrived. Everyone was getting excited which House would win this school year's Quidditch season; both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students were leaning on the Gryffindor team who had Harry Potter as their star Seeker, except for the Slytherins who believed that they would win it for the eighth time in the running. Ron didn't bother watching the Slytherin-Ravenclaw game because it was obvious which one won and he didn't like it one bit. He also didn't bother watching the Gryffindow-Hufflepuff game due to the same reason he thought on the first one.<p>

He was at the library with three books surrounding him. He almost forgot to do his Potions homework and he didn't want to feel the wrath of Snape despite knowing perfectly that he wouldn't get much trouble. He was halfway done with the essay when he saw a huge figure from the corner of his eyes. He glanced up and saw Hagrid the gamekeeper talking quietly to Harry, Neville and Hermione. A strange feeling stirred inside him and he couldn't help but get curious.

Ron watched carefully and saw the three's expressions changed from surprise to worry. When they left, Ron stood from his seat and went over to the section where they stood. "I guess it's going to happen soon," he muttered to himself, looking around the books with the same topic: Dragons. "Hope they won't get caught."

Throughout three whole weeks, Ron watched the three Gryffindors as if it were a play. He decided not to meddle with them because of two reasons: firstly, it was their problem and secondly, he had to follow his own words or he would be considered a hypocrite. He also noted that Draco was smug during the days, throwing occasional knowing smirks at Harry, Hermione and Neville who tensed in return. Putting two and two together, Ron concluded that Draco had managed to find out about the dragon.

One Thursday afternoon, Ron headed his way toward Transfiguration class when he heard someone called out his name. Ron raised his eyebrows as Harry approached him with Neville and Hermione behind him. He had a feeling why they approached him which turned out to be true when they asked about his brother Charlie. He answered them in feign innocence before leaving them, thinking how amusing it was.

He expected that they would pull off what they were planning to do. But a week later, rumours floated that Gryffindor lost a hundred-twenty points because of Harry and Hermione who were caught out of bed by their own head of house, McGonagall. As much as Ron felt bad for the two, he was delighted to know that Draco was also caught during that time and Slytherin lost sixty points, earning scowls and grumpy looks from the older Slytherins for two to three days. Draco also received a letter from his father and from what Ron could tell, he was being scolded for his foolishness and this made Ron happier.

On Monday night, around nine in the evening, Draco complained and whined more than usual. "- I don't deserve this," he grumbled.

"Where is the detention taking place?" asked Blaise who sat in one of the high chairs near Draco who sat in a sofa beside Pansy.

"I don't know," scowled Draco. "All I know is that I'm supposed to go to the Great Hall to meet with the stupid caretaker along with the Gryffindorks." He shot a glare toward Ron's direction and growled, "What are you smirking at?"

"Nothing," said Ron, smirking more and irritating Draco. "Shame you got caught. You're exemplifying Slytherin's very qualities." Turning away, he walked up to the dormitory and shut the door before he had to hear anything from the pale boy. He walked over to his trunk and opened it, looking for his smaller journal to review the spells he wrote down when he realized something. He rummaged through his trunk, frantically turning up his clothes and other things.

After a couple of minutes, he stopped as he clenched his fists and shaking. His face was now pale and he could almost hear his heart hammering fast against his chest. His journal was gone.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And he was in high spirits. Such a shame.<strong>_

_**Who took his journal? Ehh it's pretty obvious. It's glaring point blank to be honest. I'll be pretty surprised if no one realized it. Oh just so you know, the timeline at the end of the chapter is around mid or late April. From what I could tell from the book, Quidditch final happen on early June or late May before examinations. Hm, to those who have a better idea on the schedules at Hogwarts, send me a PM. I'll be really grateful!**_

_**I believe I should apologize to you guys. Why? Because nothing much changed. Okay, I've had Neville become a good chess player, only because of the obstacle of McGonagall's. Things will happen gradually, sad to say, and Ron will meddle at some time. I can't say which book will have a significant change because that'll be a spoiler, but I hope you'll wait patiently until I reached that point.**_

_**The Weasleys' family bond will be challenged in the upcoming chapters and books. Let's see if 'blood is thicker than water' or Houses, rather. Next chapter will be the last of Ron's first year. Wow. How fast, huh? It's only fast because I wanted to go to the next book. **_

_**JK Rowling didn't state the twelve uses of dragon blood – okay she stated two of the twelve which were 1. A Spot remover and 2. An Oven cleaner. Weird, eh? Considering that Dumbledore published a book about its uses, I'm sure Ron will find out. Oh and to those who like to make up what are the remaining ten uses of dragon blood, tell me! I'd like to hear/read it from you!**_


	7. Chapter 6

Ron couldn't sleep for the rest of the week; he searched for his journal in every nook and cranny inside the dormitory whenever no one was around. He even searched daringly through his other dorm mates' trunks and yet he still couldn't find it. He was desperate, worried and he was becoming a nervous wreck because of it. One time his Charms Professor, Filius Flitwick, asked him personally after class if he was ill and suggested he should go to the Hospital Wing in which he responded that he was feeling nervous due to the exams.

It was already mid-May and most of the students were inside the castle, their heads poring over the books and notes in front of them. Ron's older brother Percy was preparing himself for his OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) that would take place around early June and he was barely approachable. But Ron had other things to think about and it was his journal. If someone took it and read its contents, Ron was sure that the person would come after him sooner or later and, if worse came to worse, blackmail him just to keep the secret.

He kept searching until June; by then he had no choice but to set aside his hunt to focus on his studies. He did everything he could in every subject, especially on Potions since he didn't want to face the wrath and disappointment of Snape (even though he was a greasy git, he was lenient on him because he was a Slytherin). After the exams were done Ron slowly made his way inside the dormitory; he was tired yet thankful that it was all over. He went to his bed to sleep but noticed a piece of parchment lying on top of it.

He picked up the note, unfolded it and began to read.

_I have your journal._

_If you want it back, meet with me at the sixth floor, northeast tower beside the huge tapestry of a hunchback monk with a wooden peg as a leg wrestling Hippogriffs after lunchtime._

There was no signature inside the note. Ron tried to see if he could recognize the handwriting but nothing came up. His heart beat faster than usual but he shook it away, clenching his teeth in suppressed anger. He was going to make that person pay for what he had done.

* * *

><p>Ron made his way to the Slytherin table after leaving the dungeons, glancing over and checking every single Slytherin who he thought was the culprit. When he saw Draco throwing daggers at him, he sneered back.<p>

He filled his plate with food and began to eat with gusto. While munching Ron thought of the possible persons who took his journal and out of all the candidates Draco Malfoy was the most likely person who would do it. He remembered the words the pale boy lashed out at him during the train ride like it was yesterday.

_'You're going to regret this, I swear Weasley…'_

He left the Great Hall right after and his breathing quickened as he picked up the pace. There was only one thing in his mind and that was his journal.

He finally arrived on the sixth floor, breathing heavily from the flight of stairs he had taken. He went to the meeting place, gripping his wand tightly inside his robes and was ready to hex whoever was waiting for him. Ron finally saw the huge tapestry of the monk with a wooden peg wrestling Hippogriffs and walked carefully. He looked around, expecting to see someone but before he could lower his guard, a familiar voice spoke.

"You arrived just on time, Weasley."

Ron whirled around while raising his wand. He stopped and his eyes widened. "Nott?" he croaked.

Theodore Nott stood leisurely with an unreadable expression on his face. "From that tone of your voice, I'd say you didn't suspect me, did you?"

The young redhead couldn't believe it. Out of all his Housemates, Nott wasn't any trouble to Ron but then he remembered what happened on the train ride and it caused his blood to boil.

"This is why you stayed in the compartment, isn't it?" he hissed, pointing his wand threateningly at him.

"Partly, I saw you writing a lot even if you tried to hide it from anyone, which I thought was odd. From what I can tell, you don't seem to be a writing person."

Ron bit back a retort. _He sure is observant_, he thought irritably. "Where's my journal?" he questioned. "Give it back to me –"

"Speaking of which," he took it out from his robes and said, "I wanted to know what you wrote in it –"

"Like hell I'll tell you," snarled Ron and without waiting, he shouted, "_Petrificus Totalus!_"

Theodore took a step back and easily avoided the spell. "You're not making this easier, Weasley."

"You're the one who caused this in the first place!" he said angrily. "_Impedimenta! Furnunculus!_" he fired two more spells at the other boy, his heart and mind full of anger. "I'm not going to repeat myself, Nott. Give me my journal back!"

"Temper, temper…" drawled out Theodore after dodging once again. "You're giving me no choice Weasley," he held the journal in one hand and took his wand out. "If you won't tell me, I'm going to burn this, and I know the Incineration spell."

Ron froze and eyes widened. "You're bluffing…" he said breathlessly. He couldn't let his journal get burned. He didn't have another copy and he wouldn't be able to remember everything he wrote down.

"No, I'm not." Pointing his wand on one of the smaller portraits, he said lowly, "_Incendi__o_." Flames suddenly burst on the edge of the portrait causing the painting of an old maid to shriek and streak off to another nearby portrait. "_Aguamenti."_ Water sprang from the tip of his wand, extinguishing the fire. "Now do you believe me?"

"I –" Ron didn't know what to do. He needed his journal back but he couldn't tell Nott what the contents were all about. He had to make a choice now.

He glanced toward his journal once again and a second later he made a decision. "Fine, you win. I'll tell you what's in it. But…" he said seriously, giving Theodore a hard look, "you have to give my journal back to me. I promise I won't run away…Weasley honor."

"I suggest you lower your wand first," pointed out Theodore.

He did as he was told, pocketing his wand inside his robes. "…the journal, Nott." he said slowly as he took one step forward.

Theodore scrutinized him a bit but tossed the journal to him anyway. "There, I returned it, and now you'll explain." he crossed his arms, waiting for the young redhead to start.

"I'm not going to tell you here…I prefer if we talk alone – without portraits or ghosts around."

"Then where are you going to tell me?"

"I know a place." he said to him. "It's at the fourth floor where a huge mirror is located. We'll go there separately with one of us going first." he gave Theodore a penetrating look, "I don't want anyone seeing the two of us walking together. It'll be less suspicious that way."

"You do know that you can't run away from me, don't you?"

"Of course I know that," said Ron sarcastically. "We're both Slytherins. I can't get away from you even if I wanted to." he turned around to leave but stopped abruptly. "I'll be getting something from my trunk by the way-" he informed him. "-and I'm not going to ditch you, I'll definitely tell you."

"I'll be expecting you, Weasley." Theo turned his back and stalked off, leaving him alone.

Ron sighed deeply, swiftly walking down the stairs. As he walked, a number of things came across his mind. Would Theodore keep a secret? Was he trustworthy enough? Was he, Ron, doing the right thing? He didn't know what the answers were but all he knew was his secret should be kept in the dark and that no one must know about it. He finally arrived at the Slytherin dungeons and entered inside the dorm that was thankfully unoccupied. He opened his trunk and hastily took a rolled parchment from the bottom.

When he finally made it to the fourth floor, he went toward the meeting place where he saw Nott leaning against the wall with a bored look on his face. "I'm here," he said.

"About time," commented Theodore. "So where are we going?"

"Through here." Ron traced the walls with his hands as if looking for something. Then, he pushed a block of stone. "Let's go."

"…Where?" questioned Theodore but stopped when Ron went through the mirror like a ghost. He raised an eyebrow first, looked around to see if anyone was around, and followed him. "How did you find this place?"

"…I just found it." shrugged Ron. "When you're an outcast like me, you'll be finding yourself wandering inside the castle and you'll find some hidden places. This is one of them."

"There's hardly anything here." Theodore noted as he took a short glance around. In the room was a large table, five discarded chairs with one of them missing a leg, an old grandfather clock and a dusty bookshelf.

_Typical Slytherin._ thought the redhead to himself.

"What do you think I wrote down?" he questioned suddenly, feeling it was best to ask him what his thoughts were first.

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "In all honesty, it's full of nonsense because half of the things you wrote down didn't make much sense –" Ron nodded in understanding, "- but the more I read it repeatedly, the less confusing it gets. I noticed half a small portion had check marks so I assumed it means something, am I correct?"

"Yeah." said Ron. His insides were squirming, feeling things were going to get worse.

"I also considered the dates when you wrote down those scenarios and another later dates that were more recent with the check marks. If you ask me, it was like you already guessed things but didn't know when they'd happen. That's why there's another date written down at the end of each passage." continued Theodore, watching Ron's expression closely as he spoke. "Am I still correct, Weasley?"

"Spot on." muttered Ron, his right eye twitched slightly. "So, what's your answer?"

"…the only possible reason, although it's ridiculous, is that you can see the future; you're a Seer." said Theodore quietly. When Ron didn't respond, Theodore took it as a confession. "So you are one…"

"And what if I am?" challenged Ron, "What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing, what makes you think I'll do something? But I can see why you're keeping this a secret. You want my silence, is that it?"

"You took it right out of my mouth, Nott, you keep quiet or –"

"Or what? You'll Hex me?" interrupted Theodore. "You can't even land one on me and you're threatening me to keep me quiet? I don't think so. If you want my silence, you have to give me something in return."

"You're so full of yourself asking for that!" snarled Ron, pointing his wand at Theodore. "You took my journal and already know my secret. The best you can do is shut your mouth."

"But I already returned your journal and I haven't told anyone about it." pointed out Theodore. "Isn't that enough compensation for what you just mentioned?"

"No!" said Ron adamantly, his heart beating harder than ever. "I don't trust you."

"Of course you don't, but it doesn't matter because you will have to trust me. What do you want me to do to prove that I'm trustworthy? Do want us to perform a Wizarding Oath? Or an Unbreakable Vow? I'm sure that'll make your mind at ease, won't it?"

Ron watched him carefully, checking to see if he was being sincere. "A Wizarding Oath?" he repeated. "You're not kidding, are you?" A Wizarding Oath was a serious thing to do. It was like the Unbreakable Vow except lighter in terms of consequence because if the wizard who made the oath broke his word, his magic core would be reduced in half.

"I don't joke, Weasley."

"That's…not necessary," he said slowly. "But a blood contract would work."

"And you know about those?" Theodore had a mild surprised look on his face. "How?"

"It doesn't matter how I know it," said Ron evasively. Ever since his journal went missing, he had to find a way to keep the person silent of what they knew. Fortunately, he found a small book with some methods ranging from basic to deadly and serious. A blood contract, from what Ron read, was one of the means of agreement between two or more wizards. The parties involved were to dutifully follow the terms written on the contract and if one of them broke it then that person would be obliged to follow the consequences no matter what. "So you agree?"

"…Agreed," responded Theodore after a moment. "The contract?"

"I already made one, but I don't have a blood quill with me – my parents will have my head if they found me having one. You do have one, right?" Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," nodded Theodore. "But it's at home, in my father's study room. I'll have it sent here tomorrow."

"But don't you have a house-elf? Can you call that house-elf of yours now?" he questioned impatiently.

"Now?" repeated the other boy. "You do know that no one can apparate inside and out of Hogwarts, right?"

Ron faltered slightly but returned to his earlier demeanour. "Nott, do you really think I don't know that? Anyway, house-elves can move around inside Hogwarts, right?"

"So what, they're just house-elves not people."

"Thinking like that will get you in trouble someday." Ron took a deep breath to calm himself down before continuing. "House-elves are magical creatures. I'm pretty sure their magic is different from ours so maybe some of our spells may not apply to them. Just try calling that house-elf of yours."

Theodore had a skeptical look on his face but went ahead with it: "Skit, I need you."

A loud crack sounded and a small creature appeared in front of them. The house-elf had batty but droopy ears, big round eyes, a thin long nose and wore a makeshift toga made of old linen cloths.

"You is calling, young master Nott?" squeaked the house-elf, the ears flapping as the creature nodded.

"See my point? How d'you think they are able to clean our dorms without being seen? And the food –"

"All right, you made your point Weasley," said Theodore curtly, hiding his surprise. "Skit, get the blood quill from father's study room. I need it now. And you are not to tell anyone about this, is that clear?"

"Yes, young master Nott!" With another crack, he was gone. In less than half a minute Skit returned with a red-feathered quill in his hand. "Here is the quill you is needing, young master." he piped up, handing out the quill with his outstretched thin hands.

"I will call you again when I'm done using it." Theodore ordered the house-elf. When the creature vanished, he faced Ron and said, "So, where's the contract?"

"Here," he pulled the rolled parchment from his robes and tossed it to Theodore who caught it with one hand.

Theodore unfurled it and began to read, occasionally raising an eyebrow until he was finally done. "I assume I can't change anything on this contract?" he glanced down again and said, "And the consequences, they're–"

"- too much?" continued Ron with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, they are but it is better that way. You're not planning on breaking the contract, are you?"

"No, since the consequences are like this, I'd rather keep my mouth shut." shrugged Theodore, taking out the red quill from the inside of his robes. "But I'm not going to sign this yet." he said suddenly to Ron.

"But you already –" said Ron angrily, gripping his wand tightly.

"Yes, I agreed, but only if you let me add more to the terms and conditions. I won't force you to change what you wrote down. I'd rather you agree to let me add more. It's only fair."

"Why you –" Ron raised his wand to hex him.

"That's not going to work on me," drawled Theodore. "Come on Weasley, it's not going to hurt you."

Ron thought for a moment. _If I'm going to say yes, then he might gain something out from the contract._ But another voice told him that it might benefit him as well. He glanced toward Theodore who stood with his arms crossed lazily, waiting for him to decide. "All right, I'll let you add one, but _just_ one."

"Good," said Theodore, uncrossing his arms and facing him. "But I need to ask you some things first." Ron was getting tired of this talk. "Is there going to be a war soon? How many years before it'll happen?"

Ron blinked in surprise. He didn't expect this kind of question from him. "I guess you figured that from reading my journal, eh?" Sighing, he answered, "Yeah, I think something like a war will happen but I'm not sure when exactly. If I were to guess, it'll take place around eight to ten years from now."_ Judging how my family looks like in the future, it'll happen really soon._

"Is it going to occur here at Hogwarts?" questioned Theodore again, remembering what Ron wrote inside the journal.

"…maybe," said Ron slowly. "I don't have all the answers, Nott. All I know a lot of people might die in a few years' time. As for how it happens, I'm not sure. I need to see more to understand." Ron remembered the dead bodies he saw in a vision last year, scared him batty for nights. He didn't know what was happening to him back then; he thought he was going mental seeing those corpses.

"And you're planning on stopping the war?" said Theodore doubtfully.

"No, of course I can't stop the war from happening," he snorted. "It'll take more than me to stop the whole thing from happening, Nott. I just want to protect who I can, like my family, that's all there is to it."

"How Slytherin of you, I think I know now why you were sorted to the House of Snakes. It's your selfishness–"

"I'm not being selfish!" shouted Ron. "Messing with the future too much is dangerous, that's common sense! Even an idiot would know how bad it could get changing the future! But that's beside the point, isn't it Nott? I don't care what happens to myself because I'm not going to let my family to get hurt!"

Theodore gazed at him unblinkingly. "So you're selfish with silly Gryffindor nobility on the side, how wonderful. Let's just say that you managed to save your family from harm, which side wins? Your side or the other one?"

Ron contemplated. "I don't know. I haven't seen much. I can't exactly summon my ability whenever I wanted to. It comes up suddenly."

"Have you tried mastering it?"

"No," he replied with a shrug. "I was busy learning defensive spells and others."

Theodore didn't say anything else right after and a heavy silence fell upon them. "Well then, the condition I wanted to add in the contract is that I want you to inform me of any vision that is related to the incoming war. In exchange, I will give you information you want to know and other resources you seek."

Ron stared at him in disbelief. "You want me to tell you my visions about…whatever it is that's going to happen? What are you going to gain from that?"

"A lot," replied Theodore simply. "I'll be able to guess better what will happen next and whichever side wins, I'll be part of it. I'm a Slytherin and I do things that will benefit myself. Aren't you like that with wanting to save who you can? It's only self-preservation."

Ron pressed his lips tightly, suppressing the urge to deny it. _Is he right, are we thinking the same?_

"Are you going to agree?" asked Theodore.

"…yeah," said Ron after thinking long. "I agree with your terms. But you don't need to know other things –"

"Like what?"

"Just other things that aren't what you wanted to know." _Like seeing my sister snogging with someone. Ugh, that made me stay up for weeks._

Theodore seemed to have gotten the idea and simply shrugged. "Your choice," he handed the contract back to Ron and said, "Well? Add it now." Ron took out a self-inking quill from his robes and added Theodore's proposal.

"Here, sign it now." He watched avidly as the other boy bent over the table with the contract lying innocently on it. Theodore swiftly signed on it using the blood quill and Ron noticed the back of his hand cut open momentarily before healing itself.

"Done," said Theodore, handing the quill to Ron.

Ron stepped forward with the quill in his hand. _Am I doing the right thing?_

_No, but it's necessary_.

Ron's hand shook slightly as it moved toward the contract. All he needed was to sign it and the deal was done. His heartbeat increased and before he knew it, he already signed the contract. He hardly felt his hand cut open with his thoughts preoccupied. He stepped back, lowering his hand as his eyes were glued on the contract; the signatures glowed faintly until the blood turned black. "We signed it," he said slowly, facing Theodore. "You'll keep your mouth shut, Nott." He grabbed the contract from the table and shoved it inside his robes as Theodore picked up his blood quill.

"I will." nodded Theodore. He summoned his house-elf and handed down the blood quill, ordering the small creature to not say a word to anyone, not even his father.

Ron looked over the old grandfather clock at one corner of the room (weirdly enough, it was still working) and noted it was already past two-thirty in the afternoon. "We've already spent more than enough time in here." He left the room through the mirror and waited until Theodore got out as well. "Just so you know, we're not going to be friends because of this." he said seriously to the other boy who just went through the huge mirror.

Theodore scoffed. "I couldn't possibly consider this as the first step of friendship. It's more of a mutual benefit between us, nothing more." he said snidely. The two didn't say anything to each other, turned to face opposite directions, and walked off without taking a second glance.

* * *

><p>The following day, rumours broke out inside Hogwarts about Harry Potter and his two friends overcoming obstacles made by the professors in order to save a certain stone. The reason for such action weren't explained so numerous scenarios emerged, ranging from slightly possible to overboard ridiculous. This went on until the last day where everyone was present at the Great Hall where it was decorated with Slytherin symbols.<p>

Ron grumbled at the result. The Slytherin team won the Quidditch Cup for the eighth time in a row, causing for all Slytherins to celebrate in high spirits while boasting it to the other Houses. Other than that, they accumulated the highest number of House points throughout the whole year with Ravenclaw taking up the second place, Hufflepuff at third and shockingly enough, Gryffindor at the last place. From what Ron knew, the Gryffindor team was blasted off by Ravenclaw by eighty points without their star seeker Harry Potter who was unavailable and the young redhead had a feeling it was connected to the rumour circulating about him, Neville and Hermione saving a stone (Ron wondered what kind of stone it was; how could it be so valuable?).

Ron seated at the far end of the Slytherin table, away from Malfoy and the rest of his fellow peers (he and Theodore ignored each other as if nothing significant happened). Even though his eyes were closed, he knew all too well that all Slytherin students were grinning smugly at their triumph. When Dumbledore stood from his seat, everyone fell silent. "Before we begin the feast, I would like to say a few words," began the headmaster before turning to face the Slytherin House.

"Well done Slytherin –" Ron turned away, not wanting to hear what he had to say. "- the best chess play Hogwarts has ever seen, I award fifty five points to Mr. Longbottom," he said. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Gryffindor House cheered loudly and Neville blushing hard, stammering but pleased all the same. "To Miss Granger…for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty-five points." The cheers grew louder; even the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw House joined in. Ron could see Hermione covering her face with her hands as if she was crying. "And to Mister Potter…for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points." And with that, Gryffindor exploded in their loudest and most exuberant response.

That was the final blow for Slytherin. Ron found himself grinning from ear to ear: Gryffindor had just overtaken Slytherin and won the House Cup. Snape was seething in anger, glaring toward the headmaster's direction then at Harry's.

Then the banners changed from silver and green to scarlet and gold, the great serpent being replaced to a glorious lion. When the feast began, the three Houses were cheerful, chattering happily amongst each other. The Slytherins, on the other hand, had sour expressions on their faces. They barely ate much, throwing daggers at the rest of the Houses, especially at Gryffindor where Harry, Hermione and Neville sat. Ron, on the other hand, ate away happily, happy for the House of Lions.

The next morning, everyone filed out of the Great Hall with the Gryffindors leading as the Weasley twins boomed with a made-up song relating to Gryffindors beating Slytherins. Ron saw his brothers approaching him and Percy asked, "So how's your first year?"

Ron had half a mind to tell him everything that happened to him but thought otherwise. "It's bearable," he said shortly. "Do you think you did well in your exams?"

Both Fred and George groaned. "Of all the questions you could've asked, why that?" said George grumpily.

"I knew being in Slytherin badly influenced you!" said Fred while shaking his head.

Ron couldn't help but snort. "Shove it, Fred," he saw his pet rat Scabbers scamper to his direction and picked him up. "There you are, I've been wondering where you'd run off." said Ron with a small frown, staring at his pet rat. "I might put you in a cage, you know."

"Come on ickle Ronniekinns, the train's about to leave," called out Fred, getting Ron's full attention.

"Stop calling me that," scowled Ron but followed them out of the castle. As the sunlight hit his face, he blinked a couple of times before staring at the sky steadily. He didn't know what he was searching for but it did ease him somehow. _I hope next year will be easier_. He heard his brothers calling him again; he snapped back to reality and ran toward them, pushing his thoughts aside.

Tomorrow would be the start of the summer holidays. He should be enjoying himself, not worrying.

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><p><em><strong>This is the end of Ron's first year.<strong>_

_**This is edited by my super cyber pal whom I'm not going to speak of because I can't remember if I'm allowed to mention his/her username. The editing is a slow process with me and my cyber pal busy with our lives so it is expected that the clean-up will be slow.**_

_**Hopefully things will be better for Ron. Hm That's all I can say. Toodles!**_


	8. Chapter 7

_**Hello guys! I'm very flattered for all of the positive reviews you have given me. I appreciated them, I really do!**_

_**To Salvation: about the two things you pointed out, well here's the thing: About Ron and Theo acting a bit more mature than normal since they're both eleven year olds, I know a couple of kids who act way beyond their age. For Ron, being able to See the future made him grow up a bit, especially when you see your own family getting hurt or one of them dying, as well as the others whose lives were taken away. Also, since he was sorted to Slytherin, he couldn't possibly act like his own self. He couldn't enjoy himself as much as the others who liked where they were sorted. He was always on guard, especially when Malfoy and his cronies were around, not to mention he's a loner. Being alienated really hurts a person. And personally speaking, I know how that feels at the age of 11 (although it lasted for almost a month). It causes the kid or anyone to see things differently and Ron felt it wasn't the time to act like a child when he had other things to do, like thinking of way to change the fate of his family (like Fred's death).**_

_**Now to Theodore Nott; he is what I perceived to be as a child who was raised to become like a pureblood adult despite the age. We know very little of him – a son of a Death Eater, nothing more – and I really do see him as someone who can step up with the grown-ups and can go head-to-head against them. And if I were to guess, he'll be like Draco Malfoy, an only child, so that constitutes more to his personality but very different to how Draco was raised who was spoiled. Theodore wasn't really spoiled, more like he was given what his parents thought he needed such as books (lots of them) and skills he needed to learn and be equipped before entering Hogwarts. He's quiet, secretive, a true Slytherin in my own opinion (better than Draco) and exemplifies the qualities Salazar Slytherin value.**_

_**On your second point, I'm not going to make Neville turn to Ron. Neville is more sensible and is less reckless than Harry and Ron in canon, most of the time. Being best mates with Harry and Hermione will surely help Neville gain more confidence in him sooner than indicated in the books, just so you know. I hope that helps you Salvation! Whew that's long. I wish I could've simplified it but it's better that way. **_

_**This chapter covers Flourish and Blotts and The first part of The Whomping Willow.**_

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><p><em>He steered his family car in the air, watching contently down below. He saw his older brothers Fred and George riding on brooms, playing Quidditch against Bill and Charlie who rode on a sphinx and a dragon respectively. Percy was on top of the Burrow's rooftop, wearing a lime green pinstriped suit, preaching about the Ministry at the top of his lungs. Harry and Neville were seen battling humongous spiders in suits of armors and Hermione was stranded in a tall tower like a damsel in distress waiting for a prince to save her. Ron zoomed his way over to her direction, thinking that both Harry and Neville were busy to save her, but the clear sky darkened all of sudden and lightning struck down on the tower. <em>

"_Help me!" screamed Hermione, holding out her hands in the air with desperation in her voice._

"_I will!" said Ron, speeding the car toward the tower. Another strike of lightning occurred and Ron closed his eyes involuntarily._

"_You can't help her," a young female voice spoke._

_Ron snapped his eyes open and gasped as he stared at his younger sister Ginny standing in front of him in mid-air with a cold and emotionless look on her face. "Ginny –"_

"_You're not my brother," sneered Ginny. "You're pathetic, useless, and a traitor. We don't love you, Ron, we never did ever since you're a Slytherin," then her voice changed and Ginny's brown eyes turned scarlet. "You don't deserve to be a Weasley," she raised her wand at him and shrieked, "_Avada Kedavra!_"_

_A flash of green light erupted from her wand and went straight at Ron who couldn't avoid it. The green light enveloped him, and Ron opened his mouth to scream –_

"Ron? Are you all right?"

Ron Weasley opened his eyes as he heard the voice of his mother, Mrs. Weasley calling him. He sat up from bed, breathing heavily. He remembered the dream he had and let out a shaky laugh. "It's just a nightmare," he said to himself.

"Ron dear," said Mrs. Weasley, pushing the hair out from Ron's face and feeling his temperature on his forehead. "Are you feeling off? Do you want to stay in bed for today -?"

"No, no," he shook his head hastily. "I feel well, Mum. I just had a bad dream, is all."

Mrs. Weasley narrowed her eyes at him as if scanning his whole body in and out. "Are you sure?" she asked concernedly.

"Yeah," insisted Ron. He jumped out of bed and said to her before leaving, "I'm really hungry now. Did you cook some bacon for breakfast?" he asked, wanting her to stop coddling him.

"Yes," said Mrs. Weasley as she stood from the edge of the bed. "There's still some left on the table, you better hurry up or there won't be anything le –"

"I know," said he as he dashed out from his bedroom and ran downstairs. It was already summer and the Burrow was lively again with all of the present Weasley children present (except for Bill who was currently in Egypt and Charlie working at Romania). July had just ended and August had just begun. Everyone received their Hogwarts letters and Ginny, who was about to turn to eleven on the eleventh of August, got ecstatic. Today, they were supposed to go to Diagon Alley to buy books and other school supplies needed.

Ron arrived down and greeted his siblings who returned the gesture. He saw Ginny munching on a buttered toast at the dining table and sat down beside her. Thoughts of the dream he had entered his mind but shook it away. "G'morning Gin," greeted Ron as he pulled a plate near him.

"Same to you, Ron," said Ginny happily.

"You're really happy, huh," mused Ron, piling eggs and bacon on his plate.

"Of course I am," grinned the youngest daughter. "I'll be able to go to Hogwarts, have a wand of my own –" Ron winced slightly at the mention; out of all of the siblings, he was the only one who didn't have a wand of his own since he was using Charlie's old wand, "- and meet Harry Potter in person!" she finished with a goofy grin on her face.

Ron couldn't help but snort at this and earned a hard look from her. "Okay, I'm sorry I snorted," he said hastily to her. "But seriously Gin, he's only Harry Potter –" _Okay, he's not just Harry Potter – he's the Harry Potter but he's alright I guess._

"Exactly!" said Gin, dropping her toast on her plate and facing Ron. "He's the Boy-Who-Lived! He must be really strong to defeat You-Know-Who!" a frightened expression went across her face and gasped. "But he's famous – I don't think he'll have time talking to someone like me. Is he nice, Ron?"

"Er," paused Ron, unsure what to say. He chewed on his food first, trying to find a good description of the said person. "Potter is…approachable," he said slowly after swallowing his food and seeing Ginny's hopeful look, he added, "only on rare occasions, really. And besides, why don't you ask Fred and George about him? They're Gryffindors, I'm just a Slytherin," he told her. "I don't know him that well." _Not that I'm going to tell you what I know, sorry._

Ginny eyed on him but said finally, "You have a point there. I'll ask Fred and George," she finished eating the toast on her plate and skidded off toward Fred and George's direction.

As she left, Ron turned and shook his head. He had three fills of breakfast when his mother went down and told him to take a bath. He was able to get ready in twenty minutes, his hair mopped wet and his clothes worn hastily. Mrs. Weasley smiled wryly and waved her wand on his wet hair to dry. "Fix your clothes Ron," she told him while taking a flowerpot filled with Floo powder on top of the fireplace. "Percy, you go after your father –"

Percy stepped forward and took a pinch of Floo powder; Ron straightened his clothes and combed his hair a bit before going in the fireplace after the twins. In a flash of green flames, Ron opened his eyes and stepped out of the fireplace, shaking off some of the ashes from his clothes. By the time he was done, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley appeared. "Let's go everyone," instructed Mr. Weasley, who arrived inside the inn first, as he led them to the back of the Leaky Cauldron. As the passageway opened, he turned to face them all and said, "Now, we're going to split in twos – your mother will be going to Madam Malkin's to get Ginny's school robes –" the boys simply nodded, not wanting to join the two for clothes shopping, "- so we'll be going to Flourish and Blotts to buy your school books –" a pained look flickered in Mr. Weasley's face and Ron knew exactly what he was thinking.

Ron suddenly raised his hand, getting everyone's attention. "Er," he began. "We all know that Lockhart books are expensive –" everyone nodded wryly, "- so I thought of something that might help us a bit –"

"And that is?" asked Fred with a raised eyebrow.

"Do tell," said George.

"I was thinking that we can just share the books – I mean, we all have different schedules and it's better that way," said Ron quickly. _Besides, it'll be a waste of money to buy something written by that fake-looking blondie. _"Fred and George can share a book, then Percy can borrow his books to Ginny and –"

"- you'll have your own since you're in Slytherin," finished Fred. "Your idea makes sense," he said, glancing around everyone.

"Yeah, I like his way of thinking," nodded George. "What do you think?"

"For practical reasons, it's a good idea," said Percy pompously.

"I don't mind," piped up Ginny. "It's enough to have three copies of them Lockhart books rather than five. And it's possible we won't be using them again."

"How about you dear?" asked Mr. Weasley to his wife. "I think it's a good one."

Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips but nodded. "Since everyone agreed, I don't mind," she turned to Ron and smiled warmly toward him, "That's very well-thought of you, Ron."

Ron shrugged but the tip of his ears turned pink. "It's fine, Mum," he mumbled.

All of them clambered down the cobble-stoned steps and went to Gringotts Wizarding Bank to withdraw some money (or what was left in their vault, thought Ron). After that, they split up; the twins had asked Mrs. Weasley if they could go to Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop and meet their best friend Lee Jordan and the Weasley patriarch agreed only if they go to Flourish and Blotts later on. Ron glanced around the area, checking until he bumped someone. "Oi watch where you're going!" remarked Ron as he straightened up.

"You should be the one watching where you're going," a familiar voice retorted.

Ron took a closer look and realized the one he ran into was no other than Hermione Granger who was with a kind-looking couple he assumed to be her parents. "Granger," he said in acknowledgment.

"Weasley," she responded with the same treatment.

"So, where's Potter and Longbottom?" he asked lightly, not knowing what to say.

"Who's looking for me?" Harry's voice drifted from Ron's left side. "Oh, hi Weasley," he greeted in mild surprise standing next to Neville who nodded timidly to Ron's direction.

"Hullo," replied Ron. "I've heard you got a warning from the Ministry by using a Hover Charm," he said casually to Harry who widened his eyes in surprise. "What were you thinking? You do know that underage magic isn't allowed, right?"

Harry muttered, "It's…hard to explain," he gave him a curious look and asked, "How did you know about that?"

Ron blinked but realized that the Boy-Who-Lived might have not known how the Wizarding world ran. "My dad works at the Ministry," he said simply. "Word gets around, especially if that person is someone like you Potter since you're the Boy-Who-Lived," he told him bluntly.

"Oh, right," conceded Harry, frowning slightly. Both Neville and Hermione grimaced and shot sympathetic looks for the raven-haired boy.

"I better go now," said Ron suddenly. "I'll see you…when I'll see you at Hogwarts," he said as he gave short nods to them, even to Hermione's parents. He turned around and left the three and heard Hermione's drifting voice saying, "He's from Slytherin, a different House –". Ron walked around Diagon Alley a bit, going to the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop and checking out the merchandise before going to Flourish and Blotts. He finally found his father and siblings from inside due to their distinct hair colour, holding three sets of Lockhart books. He saw his mother lined up with the rest of the middle-aged witches, looking frantically at the end of the bookshop. He glanced up the banner hanging in front of the shop.

**GLIDEROY LOCKHART**

**will be signing copies of his autobiography**

**MAGICAL ME**

**today 12:30P. 4:30P.M**

Ron couldn't help but snort before entering inside. "Ron, where have you been?" questioned Mr. Weasley as his son approached him. "I've been worried – where did you run off to?"

"I met Potter and his friends on the way here –" began Ron but Ginny's gasp interrupted him. "What?"

"You saw him?" squeaked Ginny, her eyes wide as saucers. "Where -?"

"He must've gone somewhere," cut off Ron. "And besides Gin, he doesn't like attention as far as I know him at Hogwarts, he's very private." he told her. "It's better if you don't bother him. Like you said, he has other things to do other than speak to others like us." For some reason, Ron couldn't help but put Harry Potter in a bad light to Ginny. It must be an older brother reflex.

Ginny deflated a bit but nodded. "You're right," she said in a small voice.

Ron felt guilty but pushed it aside. Before he turned, an irritable photographer pushed his way inside the shop while saying, "Out of the way there," the wizard snarled at him as he stepped on the boy's foot without notice, "This is for the Daily Prophet –"

The young redhead scowled deeply and said, "Big deal," he sneered at him, massaging his foot.

Apparently, his comment was heard by no other than Glideroy Lockhart who was at the end of the shop. He stood up and faced Ron and his eyes widened. "It can't be Harry Potter?" he gasped and the rest of the occupants inside the shop turned to face the opposite.

Ron blinked in confusion. "What Harry Potter? I'm not –" he stopped, looked over his shoulder and was surprised. Harry Potter stood right behind him with Hermione and Neville by his side with a pale look on his face. In Ron's opinion, Harry didn't like the fact that he was seen by someone well-known. "You're here," he said. Not far from him, Ginny let out a small gasp and stared wide-eyed at Harry Potter.

"I know I am," grimaced Harry before he was pulled by Lockhart with one arm by force.

"So, why are you here?" questioned Ron to Neville. "I thought you already bought the books."

"We already did. It's just that…Hermione wanted to get an autograph from Lockhart," whispered Neville, glancing nervously toward the bushy-haired girl.

"Oh?" Ron was amused. It seemed that the bookworm had a huge crush on Glideroy Lockhart.

"Ron," called out Mr. Weasley, coming out from the shop with the books in his arms. Fred and George were behind him, struggling to get out. "Let's go out – we already have the books –"

"Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley," a drawled voice spoke from nearby.

Both the Weasleys and Neville looked up and saw a tall man with platinum long hair, pale skin, and cold stormy-grey eyes, wearing impeccable expensive robes. "Lucius," said Mr. Weasley coldly, his warm eyes turned stone cold. Ron appraised him and he could tell that he was as awful as his son, Draco, but possibly worse.

Beside the prestigious man was his son, Draco, who was smirking and sneering at the whole Weasley family. "Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids… I hope they're paying you overtime?" He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. Mr. Weasley's ears turned slightly red but his eyes didn't change but Mr. Malfoy noticed it and smirked. "Obviously not," he continued. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

The Weasleys stiffened. Yes, they were poor and they had a big family but one thing for certain was that they knew what was right from wrong and they would not use other people to gain their means. "We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," Mr. Weasley said firmly.

"Clearly," sneered Mr. Malfoy, taking a sweeping glance over the Longbottoms and Grangers who he could tell that they weren't magical. His gaze fell on Ron who gritted his teeth; he had a feeling Draco mentioned about him being in Slytherin to his father. "I've heard that your youngest son got sorted to Slytherin," he said, the corners of his lips curling. "I do hope that's an indication that one of your sons know how embarrassing it is to be in a family such as yours –"

Ron growled and opened his mouth to retort but his father moved swiftly and the next thing he and the rest knew, Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy and were now fighting. Ginny's books and cauldron fell on the floor along with the books from the bookshelves that were toppled from the fight. Fred and George cheered for their father, Mrs. Weasley shouted for her husband, the crowd inside backed away and causing more books to fall over, and the assistant cried for the two to stop the fighting.

Suddenly, a booming voice said gruffly, "Break it up, there, gents, break it up –"

Hagrid the gamekeeper had arrived and pulled Mr. Weasley and Malfoy apart with little difficulty with his large hands. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice. "Here, girl - take your book - it's the best your father can give you –" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.

Mrs. Weasley rushed to her husband's side, cradling his face with her hands gently. "Arthur, you should've ignored whatever he said –" she said to him, whipping up her wand and healing the cut on his lip. "And to brawl in public, that's not a fine example to set for your children…what Glideroy Lockhart must've thought –" Mrs. Weasley thanked Hagrid for stopping the fight and all of them left the bookshop, with some of the other people following.

"He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report - said it was all publicity –"

"Git," snorted Ron but earned a hard look from her mother, the same look he got from Ginny earlier. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny then went to Ollivander's to get the youngest daughter her wand (Ron looked away, feeling his insides clenching unpleasantly) so the rest made their way to Florean Florescue's ice cream shop and waited for the two to return as they ordered some ice cream.

After a few minutes, the two returned with Ginny proudly showing them her wand (eight and a half, Holly, with the Unicorn tail hair as wand core). They spent a bit more time at Diagon Alley until they all decided to go home.

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><p>Time seemed to have flown by as September was around the corner. Ginny's birthday was celebrated and the youngest daughter flushed in happiness. Her favourite foods were served and she received gifts from her family, even from Bill and Charlie who weren't present. On the day before September first, Ron suddenly got a vision from her sister for the third time and it alarmed him. It happened around noon when he was done packing his things inside his trunk and he visited Ginny in her room where he was her writing in a battered-looking diary. "Ginny?" he called.<p>

Ginny didn't respond and continued writing in concentration. Ron called her again, raising his voice a bit. Ginny put down her quill and turned around to face him. "What?" she said.

"I was just wondering – are you busy?" Ron stopped midsentence and stared inquiringly at the open diary.

"I am," snorted Ginny, turning away and picking up her quill. "If you're going to say something, say it."

"That's just rude," scowled Ron. "I was going to give you some tips when we're there at Hogwarts but if you're going to talk like that, I'll just leave you –"

"Right, I'm sorry," she sighed, closing the diary. She sat up on her bed and faced Ron again. "So," she began. "What do I need to know? Fred and George told me some things already –"

"Do you know how you'll be sorted?" asked Ron. When Ginny shook her head, he said, "Well, I'll tell you. Last year, the two told me I was supposed to wrestle a troll –"

"But didn't Harry Potter wrestle one that entered on Halloween?" interrupted Ginny.

"If the rumors are true, then yes," shrugged Ron. "From what I know, he and Longbottom saved Granger from it on Halloween."

"Who's Granger?" questioned Ginny, leaning closer.

"She's Potter's other best mate," Ron said offhandedly and noticed Ginny's expression. "What?"

"So Granger's a girl," mumbled Ginny, drooping slightly.

Ron had a feeling why his sister was acting like that but shrugged it off, thinking it was ridiculous. "Anyway, the sorting is really simple –" he told her the basic things he thought she needed to know (he made sure not to mention anything related to Harry Potter). He was now talking about the professors and the subjects they teach. "- be careful with Snape, he's really mean –"

"But isn't he not mean to Slytherins?" clarified Ginny. "Fred and George said he's a –"

"- greasy bat in the dungeons? Yeah, he is," nodded Ron. "only to everyone who's not a Slytherin. I heard he's tolerable to Ravenclaws," he said thoughtfully. "But he clearly hates Gryffindors. And anyone who's clumsy and doesn't have the ability for Potion-making."

"I guess he'll hate me once I'm sorted to Gryffindor," mused Ginny.

"Possibly, you can be sorted to another House," he reminded lightly. "But it all depends on you."

Ginny gave him a long stare as if looking for something on his face. "Hey Ron," she called. "Why did you get sorted to Slytherin?" She didn't notice Ron flinch, "Did you ask the hat to put you in Gryffindor?"

"I did try," lied Ron smoothly, putting up an annoyed expression to make himself more convincing. "I never wanted to be in Slytherin," he said honestly this time. "If you get sorted to another House other than Gryffindor, I hope you won't get in Slytherin just like me. You won't like it." he told her softly.

"What do you mean -?"

"Well look at the time," said Ron abruptly, standing up from the edge of her bed. "Do remember what I said Gin," he grinned, ruffling her hair. Then another vision occurred.

_Ginny dragged herself down the dark corridor, looking quite deranged. Her hair was a mess and her skin was as white as sheet. She seemed to have lost weight and was thinner than Ron had ever seen her. What disturbed him was that she was talking to herself, or rather, someone invisible. _

"_No – I don't want to – I won't –" she said desperately, trying to stop herself from walking. _

_After a moment, she stopped talking and another later she began to struggle. "Tom, no – I –" she was holding the diary and no matter how she tried to throw it, she held it on like a lifeline. "He won't –" stopped and went still. She stood up and her eyes, despite the tears, were impassive and glassy-eyed. And she walked on, not uttering a single word._

The vision dissolved and Ron had a horrified expression planted on his face, staring at Ginny as if he had seen her for the first time. "Ron?" said Ginny, giving Ron a curious look.

"Gin," said Ron. "You –" _Don't tell her._ "You be careful when we go to Hogwarts, all right?"

She blinked in surprise. "Of course I'll be," she said. "It's Hogwarts. Nothing bad will happen to me," she laughed heartily. "And I have you, Fred and George, and Percy. I know I'll be fine."

Ron smiled. "We're your brothers Gin, we'll be there for you." He left her room and went back up to the attic, his own bedroom, and lied on the bed. "I'll definitely be there for you Gin, I promise," said Ron determinedly before closing his eyes to sleep.

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><p>The following morning was hectic; even though all of them had woken up, it was like they hadn't fixed all of their things beforehand. Everyone went up and down the stairs, half-dressed and at the same time holding some toast or chewing a piece of sausage as they gathered their things. Ron, at least, had fixed all of things (he rechecked everything inside before dragging it down the stairs) and was currently eating contently. He washed his hands and brushed his teeth after eating and sat inside the car (he and his siblings knew that the car was tinkered with magic and had given it additional features such as the ability to fly), waiting for the others to come inside.<p>

When everyone was settled, Mr. Weasley ignited the engine and drove off to the highway but Ginny let out a squeak and said that she had forgotten something important. They had no choice but to go back and have Ginny get what she left which Ron realized it was the diary. They set off again and drove all the way to London's train station. It was ten minutes before eleven and they hurried off toward platforms nine and ten quarters when they noticed a crowd surrounding the barrier.

"Excuse me but what just happened?" asked Mr. Weasley, trying to get someone's attention.

"The barrier, it seems to have been blocked," one of the adults informed Mr. Weasley.

The Weasley children gasped. "What on earth caused it?" fretted Mrs. Weasley as the other magical persons began to talk amongst themselves.

A Muggle man who seemed to be a guard approached them and asked, "What seems to be the problem here?"

"Nothing, we're just talking about certain matters," said a woman's voice briskly. "We're all acquaintances. A reunion –"

"I see," nodded the Muggle and left them.

"What are we going to do? The train's going to leave any minute now –" said one boy.

Ron glanced up the time and watched as the hands moved. Three minutes before eleven in the morning. "We won't be able to make it," he said to himself. As the adults talked on ways to get their children to Hogwarts (both magical and Muggle), Ron watched the hands move until it struck to eleven. As if he was standing right on King's Cross station, he heard the train's whistle loudly before leaving. He approached his parents with his hands in his pockets and asked, "How are we going to Hogwarts?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>And that is where I'm going to end this chapter. Sorry about that. The underlined sentences, phrases and fragments are copied from the book so yeah.<strong>_

_**Now I'm going to answer one question I'm sure you're all wondering:**_** How did Harry get out from Privet Drive after the fiasco Dobby did?**_** Here's the answer – we sort of know how the Ministry detects underage magic and it's easier to detect it when underage magic happened in a Muggle neighborhood or a place filled with Muggles. Anyway, news flies very fast, especially if the person is as famous as Harry Potter in his world. So in that sense, Neville would get caught of the news through his grandmother who's friends with Griselda Marchbanks (you know who she is, I don't need to explain). Also, Harry would have given his address and phone number to Neville who make a visit to Harry to know what's happening to him. With his grandmother of course (I can't see Neville going there alone and I don't see Augusta leaving Neville alone to go to a Muggle neighborhood). And you will know what will happen. By the way, Harry only got warned because the Masons were present and were victim to Dobby's magic. The Dursleys already knew Harry's magical and I'm sure the Ministry knew that (but they warned Harry on fifth book because Fudge was trying to discredit Harry). And before I end this, the Dursleys are scared witless on magic and seeing Augusta Longbottom and her attire would frighten them more LOL.**_

_**Now off to Ginny's personality. She's a kid, she had this huge crush and admiration towards Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. And that's how she's going to be in Ron's second year. If you're already annoyed with her, then I think I'm doing a fair job. But remember, I don't hate/bash Ginny Weasley. I like all characters, even Umbridge (yes, I'm that crazy) so don't flame me. I'm writing her as I see fit for a young girl who idolizes a famous person. But I can tell it's a bit over the edge, but ah well.**_

_**About Ron's overprotectiveness over Ginny: Ron is closest to Ginny in terms of age and is likely to be close as they grow up – like Bill is to Charlie, like the twins to each other. Percy, he's a special case (nuff said). He has those brotherly instincts that he'll follow. He could tell (heck, he knows) Harry attracts a lot of trouble, endangering himself and his friends, so in that retrospective, if he sees his sister getting chums with Potter, he wouldn't want having that. Involving with Harry Potter, as we all know, equates to danger so he'll likely try to avoid that by discouraging his sister from getting near him.**_

_**If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I'll end this AN now.**_


	9. Chapter 8

It was the first time he had seen the Weasley car so occupied. For a family of seven usually riding inside (it was magically expanded), an additional fifteen had joined them. The Muggle parents didn't join because they only wanted for their child/children to go to Hogwarts early and bid to them before leaving them to the other magical adults who were present. Most of the passengers were students with the oldest being Percy and one Hufflepuff boy. The adults who were inside the Weasley car were Neville's grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mrs. Goldstein who was Anthony Goldstein's mother, and Mr. Abbott, Hannah Abbott's father.

By the time the car left, it was already past eleven-nineteen. Everyone did their best to look discreet when they entered inside the vehicle (because it was impossible that a five-seater Ford Anglia could fit in twenty-seven people inside) before driving off. Ron was seated around the middle of the backseat, between Ginny and Fred.

"Now everyone listen," called out Mr. Weasley, his eyes glued on front. "Mrs. Longbottom will tell you how we're all going to Hogwarts so quiet down first."

When everyone fell silent, Augusta Longbottom, who sat at the left end of the backseat with Neville on her side, cleared her throat. "Thank you, Arthur," she said in a clipped tone. "Since the train already left King's Cross, it's impossible for you children to get in –" the first years inside the train groaned a bit; they anticipated riding on Hogwarts Express for the first time, "- but there's another way to arrive at Hogwarts. Arthur will drive us up to an empty road and from there, we'll take a ride in the Knight Bus," some of the children groaned again. "this is the only possible way for you to go there."

"What's a Knight Bus?" one first year piped up excitedly. Ron glanced at him and assumed that the boy was a Muggleborn.

"It's one of the transportations a wizard or witch may use to travel from one place to another," prompted Percy as if reciting in a class. Both Fred and George snickered behind their hands.

"But it's horrible," added another student. "You won't like riding in it."

Ron, bored, merely travelled his gaze around and noticed his sister sneaking glances toward Harry Potter. Harry, on the other hand, didn't seem to have noticed this (but Ron could be mistaken because he noticed the tense and stiff disposition of the raven-haired wizard). "You know," he whispered to Ginny's ear, surprising her, "What you're doing is making him uncomfortable."

Ginny looked up with a flushed look on her face and nodded meekly. "I didn't mean to but –" she mumbled.

"He's the Boy-Who-Lived, yeah," muttered Ron, smiling wryly. "but try not to do that again." _Because it's a bit weird and it doesn't suit you, Gin._

After ten to thirteen minutes, Mr. Weasley swerved the car to the right and pulled up. He got out first and Ron watched him look around to see if any Muggle was in sight. He opened the car door and said, "The first five, come out." The nearest to the door went out first with Mrs. Weasley watching over them. Ron saw his father raised his wand arm and heard a bang from the outside, surprising the first years inside the car.

Parked right behind the Ford Anglia was a triple-decker purple bus. The door slid open and a pimple-faced young man wearing a set of purple robes as a uniform appeared from the inside. Then those who were outside clambered inside the bus with their trunks being carried easily (Ron suspected his father cast a feather-light charm on them) before calling in the next five. This time, Mrs. Longbottom and her grandson, Harry, and two first years got out of the car. After two to three minutes, the next five were called out until everyone got inside the Knight Bus.

It was the first time Ron would be riding the said bus (he was quite excited to be honest) until he realized how unorganized it was in the inside; The chairs were mismatched and unaligned with some of them lying on the surface (which he could obviously tell they fell down from the bus's abrupt break). Most of the passengers inside were pale-looking and queasy with three or four of them on the floor. He grimaced.

The group of twenty-two split into three groups with Ron staying at the second deck with his father, Percy, two first years, Mr. Abbott and Hannah. "H-hello," squeaked the blonde Hufflepuff to Ron who merely raised an eyebrow at her and nodded once.

As the door shut closed, a loud bang erupted and everyone held on to whatever they could hold to keep themselves from falling. Ron looked through the window and saw they were already somewhere he could not recognize. Cars, lamp posts, trees and other things out on the road jumped away as if they had a life on its own. "- been heading?" the conductor asked briskly to Mr. Weasley.

"Hogsmeade," said Mr. Weasley.

"Missed the train, the kids?" snorted the conductor and Ron had the urge of kicking him in the shin.

"Something went wrong with the barrier," explained Mr. Abbott.

The pimple-faced conductor gave them a look of disbelief. "Really? Well, thirteen sickles per person to go there –" Mr. Weasley and Hannah's father, along with the two first years pulled out their money and gave it to the conductor. "Righto," he said, counting the coins. "I'll go to the others."

"Dad," called out Ron. "Are we going to Hogsmeade?" He couldn't believe it. He would be able to see the wizarding village earlier than he expected.

Mr. Weasley knew what his son was thinking and smiled. "Yes, we are. It's the closest place to Hogwarts and it'll be a treat for you, I'm sure."

Ron wholeheartedly agreed. It would be the first time he would step inside the wonderful place; he heard a lot of good things about Hogsmeade from his parents and older siblings and with the given opportunity, he would see it in his own two eyes.

The whole ride lasted for almost twenty-three minutes, with the occasional stop-overs for the other passengers who left the bus gratefully. When they were the remaining occupants inside, the bus let out another loud bang and steered off recklessly until it made its final stop. Everyone clambered out of the bus in relief with two to three of them looking faintly green. Ron glanced around the area and saw some of the buildings with one on a hilltop. "That's the Shrieking Shack," pointed out Percy who noticed Ron staring at it.

"It looks creepy like you said before," nodded Ron before taking his eyes from it.

As the Knight Bus blasted off, everyone took their trunks and walked down inside the village. Almost everyone was cheerful, especially the first years and in Ron's year since it was their first time entering the famous village. "Let's go to the Three Broomsticks!" Fred said and the others nodded.

"What's in that place?" Ron heard Harry's question.

"It's one of the popular shops here at Hogsmeade," answered George to the boy. "They sell lots of drinks and food there, but you should try their butterbeer – it's the best –"

Everyone entered inside the shop and Ron knew his brothers weren't lying: the whole place was lively and warm with the comfortable seats and the kind reception from the barmaid and owner of the shop whose name was Madam Rosmerta (Ron wouldn't dare say it but thought she was quite pretty). After everyone ordered what they would like, Augusta Longbottom stood to leave. Neville and Harry glanced toward her, their eyes filled with wonder.

"Where are you going, gran?" asked Neville timidly.

"I'll go and talk with the headmaster," said the aged witch firmly. "The other adults can come with me –"

"I will," Mr. Weasley stood up along with Mr. Abbott.

"We can watch over the children while you go," said Mrs. Goldstein, earning nods from Mrs. Weasley who sat beside Ginny and another first year girl.

"Very well," nodded Augusta and turned to leave with the other two adults. "We'll come back."

When the three left, the rest enjoyed themselves with everyone getting to know each other at least. The first years were the ones with a lot of questions, asking about Hogwarts and other things related to magic. The older students didn't mind answering them, telling them what they knew. Ron simply didn't speak at that time, merely enjoying drinking his butterbeer and listening to everyone talk and mingle. His gaze fell on Harry and Neville who were whispering amongst each other. He was curious to what they're talking about, but since he sat far away from them, he had no choice but to let it go.

He didn't notice someone calling his name until Ginny nudged him. "What?" he asked, frowning.

"Colin asked you a question," she said, gesturing to the hyperactive brown-haired boy sitting three seats away.

"Oh," conceded Ron, turning to face the boy. "What is it?"

"What's your House?" asked the boy named Colin, looking eager and curious.

"And why do you want to know which House I am?" Ron questioned him.

"Because I asked everyone and I haven't asked you yet," prompted the boy.

Ron sighed. "Right," he grumbled. "Well, for your information, I'm a Slytherin and the only one here in this present group," he told him boringly. "And if you're going to ask which House suits you best, I'd say you might end up in Hufflepuff, or in Ravenclaw since you ask too much."

The others who seemed to come from the two Houses mentioned stared at him incredulously while some looked offended. "Why can't I be in Slytherin? Or in Gryffindor?" asked the boy again.

"Because," stressed Ron, albeit his tone sounded tired, "Slytherin only takes purebloods and very few half-bloods – it's a biased House. Salazar Slytherin likes his House without any Muggleborns, that's what I know. And besides, you wouldn't like it there, I promise you."

"You don't like it there?"

He ignored the question and moved on. "Now to Gryffindor, it's a House of courage and bravery. Unless you're not brave or reckless at the same time noble, you can't be sorted in that House."

"Oi we're not reckless," hollered Fred.

"Take my older brother for example," said Ron, jabbing a thumb toward Fred's direction. "He's exemplifies the qualities of a Gryffindor. He likes pranks, is hot-tempered when he wants to be and does what he wants. Anyway, anything is possible. Maybe you're really brave on the inside so you might end up there. And don't ask me any more questions," he added before sipping his drink.

"That," spoke up Percy disappointingly. "isn't a good description you've given to the two Houses, Ron."

Ron shrugged, not caring at all. Almost thirty minutes had passed and the other adults returned. The students fell silent, wanting to hear about what happened. "The headmaster has agreed to let all of you to enter inside the castle," stated Augusta, "but everyone isn't allowed to enter to their Houses yet and no first year should be allowed to any of the Houses before they are sorted. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded but one of the students raised a hand. "Is it alright if we stay here at Hogsmeade for a bit longer?" The other students perked up, hoping they would be allowed to stay inside the wizarding village before they go inside the castle.

"You may," said Mr. Weasley. "But everyone should go inside Hogwarts when it's already two in the afternoon. I should go back to the Ministry Molly," he said to his wife. "I'll see you later at the Burrow." All of the Weasley children went up to him and bid him before they watched him apparate out of the store. Mrs. Weasley stood as well and turned to her children. "Now, I expect all of you to watch over Ginny –" all of the brothers nodded dutifully, "- and behave yourselves." She kissed everyone and left as well, apparating where her husband was last seen.

"Well, we still have two hours before we go inside of Hogwarts," said George to them. "So where do you want to go?"

"I'll watch over the first years since I'm the oldest here," said Percy. "Ginny, you can come with me –"

Ginny cut across him and said, "I'll go with Ron, I wouldn't want to bother you, Perce."

Ron raised an eyebrow at her. He saw her shooting a look at him and he said right after, "Yeah, I'll look after Gin. We promise we won't go far away." He wasn't sure if he would be able to keep it, but he did promise to himself that he would watch over Ginny.

The rest of the adults stayed a bit longer (Mr. Abbott left ten minutes to catch up with work), until they see fit that the children could look after themselves. The Weasley children walked out of the Three Broomsticks and ventured around the old wizarding village. Fred and George pointed it out for Ron and Ginny where the other places are located before leaving them to go to Zonko's Joke Shop. "Let's go to Honeydukes," said Ginny to Ron, pulling his arm to go with her.

"Alright, you don't need to pull me," said Ron. They went to see the shops, checking out the merchandise and even went to see the most haunting place which was the Shrieking Shack up close.

"Hogsmeade is really a beautiful place," said Ginny after a while. "And we're so lucky to get here before we even reached our third year."

Ron didn't really think the whole wizarding village was beautiful but more on neat and magical in its own way. "Yeah, we are lucky," he nodded slowly. "You nervous for the sorting later?" he asked, noticing Ginny glancing toward Hogwarts. Although Ginny didn't respond, he knew she was tense. "I'm sure you're going to be sorted to Gryffindor –"

"But what if I didn't get in?" questioned Ginny, her eyes wide in fear. "How will Mum and Dad react?"

"You will," assured Ron. "You're a Weasley –"

"You're also a Weasley but you didn't get in Gryffindor," pointed out Ginny, not realizing her words hurt Ron deeply. "What if that happened to me? What if I ended up in -?"

Ron grabbed Ginny's shoulders and said firmly, "You will be in Gryffindor, Gin, I'm sure. You won't get sorted to another House, only in Gryffindor. I – I'm different, that's why I didn't get sorted there –" he gritted his teeth as he said this; it was true that he was different but he didn't have a choice but to get sorted in Slytherin and he won't tell her this. "- but you're not going to end up like me. You're definitely going to get sorted to Gryffindor, just like Mum and Dad, like the rest of our siblings."

"But –" argued Ginny.

"Just believe in yourself," said Ron softly. "You'll be fine."

Ginny blinked a couple of times before nodding. "You're right," she mumbled, trying not to tear up. "I'm going to become a Gryffindor." She looked away, trying to hide her face, and said, "About what I said earlier –"

"It's fine, you're nervous," said Ron shortly. "Let's go inside Hogwarts." They walked slowly back to the main street, not uttering a single word. Ron and Ginny reunited with Fred and George and made their way inside the school grounds with their trunks. They settled their trunks in the Great Hall to be transported to their dormitories (Ron suspected it was the House-elves) before showing their baby sister around the castle. They went to the library, the classrooms, the greenhouses, and other places they thought it was interesting. Ron learned a lot more about Hogwarts because of this and noted himself to remember everything. By the time it was already six in the evening, they returned to the Great Hall. Ginny and the other first years were told to follow McGonagall to meet with the other first years.

Ron's gloomy mood was seeping inside him once again as he sat down at the Slytherin table. After a couple of minutes, the entrance doors opened wide and the students who rode from the Hogwarts Express entered inside in chatters. Some of the students noticed them already seated and Ron saw Hermione launched herself at Harry and Neville's direction with an angry and worried expression.

By the time the first years entered, Ron looked up and watched closely. He saw Ginny from afar due to their family's hair and wished for her to get sorted to Gryffindor. He waited until his sister's name was called and held his breath as the hat was perched on her head. He expected the hat to have decided within seconds but it was turning to the same way as what happened to him.

"I hope that disgrace won't get sorted here like her brother did," sneered Draco Malfoy.

"She won't," growled Ron, clenching his knuckles until it turned white.

As he said it, the Sorting Hat straightened up and shouted "GRYFFINDOR!". All of the Weasley boys let out happy cheers and Ginny removed the hat from her head looking completely relieved.

The sorting ended and as usual, Dumbledore said his short yet funny speech before the food appeared on everyone's table. Ron piled his plate with food without care from the other's disgusted looks (Ron thought Crabbe and Goyle's eating were more barbaric than his) but a soft-spoken and quite formal female voice was heard, getting his attention. "Wha -?" he pulled his eyes away from his food and glanced up.

"I said if you kindly pass the salt," the girl whom Ron recognized as Pansy Parkinson's best friend repeated. She had long straight honey blonde hair, bright jade eyes, and rosy white skin.

Ron frowned slightly. Since she asked nicely, he would've given her the salt without complaint, but considering that she's part of Draco's inner circle, it was possible that she, in Draco's orders, was planning something bad on him. He had to make a decision. He picked up the salt and placed it in front of Theodore's plate (the weedy boy sat two seats away from her) and said monotonously, "Pass it to her." before eating his food again.

"That's plain rude," said Tracey Davis, a girl with dark brown hair and blue-green eyes. "She asked you nicely and you did that, as expected from someone like you."

The young redhead rolled his eyes. "I don't care," he said flatly to her. 'She should've asked someone else to get it for her." Shaking his head, he stabbed his shepherd's pie and took a piece.

The welcoming feast lasted as long as the first one Ron had and it ended around nine-thirty in the evening. Everyone listened to Dumbledore's reminders before everyone sang the Hogwarts song (Ron wished that next year they wouldn't sing it) and left the Great Hall to return to their respective Houses.

Ron and the others were told by their seventh year prefects about the new password (Prominence) before entering the Slytherin common room. He went straight to bed, kicking off his shoes and changing to his pajamas. But before he could close his eyes, Draco's annoying voice drifted to his direction. "Weasel, how did you and the others managed to get here before us?"

He turned around to face them, giving them an indifferent look. "That is for you to find out and for me to keep to myself. But, you can ask the others if you want to know it badly," he said coolly to him before closing the curtains around him and sleeping off.

* * *

><p>The following morning was just like Ron expected: waking up alone inside the dormitory. He left the bed and entered the bathroom to take a bath and wore his uniform right after like a routine before going out of the dungeons to have breakfast at the Great Hall where received his school schedule from Snape. After he was done eating, he took a right turn after leaving the Great Hall to take a shortcut when he heard Theodore's voice.<p>

"What now?" scowled Ron, stopping his tracks.

"You know what I wanted to ask," was the other boy's statement.

Ron suppressed rolling his eyes. "I haven't got any vision relating to what you want to know. I might get one in a couple of weeks or months since I'm back here at Hogwarts," he said monotonously.

"Answer Malfoy's question," said Theodore after hearing Ron's answer.

The redhead knew what he was talking about and he didn't want to tell him because it wasn't that important, but it seemed all right since he wasn't Draco. "Something went wrong with the barrier, like someone stopped it," he said slowly.

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "You couldn't get through the barrier?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah. That's why we ended up riding the Knight Bus and made it here through Hogsmeade.\"

"Curious," he muttered as he passed by Ron.

Ron let out a sigh and followed his Housemate to their first class which was Charms. The whole class went uneventful as he expected and left as soon as the bell rang. The next class he would be having was History of Magic and as he walked by, he saw Harry who was about to enter inside the greenhouse get dragged by Lockhart for the second time. He grimaced, feeling sorry for the Gryffindor before walking again. "Fame attracts fame," he said under his breath.

By the end of the day, he heard a number of things, both disgusting and bad with only one subject: the Defense Against the Dark Arts subject. Rather, the professor teaching it.

"- wasted a lot of galleons buying the books and they're all pathetic!" said one fifth Slytherin to his friend.

"He's worse than Quirell, I tell you –"

"Isn't he gorgeous?" sighed one Ravenclaw girl dreamily.

"- more likely to Incedio his hair, if you ask me," scowled one seventh year.

"- think he'll notice me if I wear -?"

Ron dropped his fork and table knife and pushed the plate away in disgust. "I lost my appetite," he grumbled, not wanting to hear the girl's ramblings, whoever she was. As he left the Great Hall, he remembered that he would be having that subject the following day. He groaned.

* * *

><p><em>Awful. Terribly pathetic. Ridiculous. Bloody Hell.<em> The words repeated inside Ron's mind the moment Lockhart opened his mouth. Lockhart's class was the Slytherin's first subject the following day and Ron hastily entered inside his classroom, not because he was eager, but for the reason that he wanted to take the any of the seats at the back. Luckily he was the first one and sat on the right end of the classroom shortly before the other male Housemates arrived. Theodore sat on his left with Draco on his other side. The girls, obviously, sat right in front of the classroom, with the exception of Tracey who decided to sit in the middle, looking extremely bored.

"Good morning class," said Lockhart dramatically, entering from his office and sweeping his robes. The girls in front sighed dreamily while the boys rolled their eyes while scoffing. "I'm sure you already know my name," he flashed his pearly white teeth, "so, I want to know if everyone has bought the books."

Murmurs were heard across the room with the girls chanting "Yes, professor."

"Let's try that again," said Lockhart jovially, "Does everyone have the books?"

"Yes," said everyone with Ron adding under his breath, "Unfortunately."

Lockhart didn't seem to have heard him. "Now, I know this is unfair but I will have you take an exam just to see how far you know about the subject," he said, earning groans from the boys. "It won't take long, I'm sure." After that, he gave them the test paper and told them to start answer.

As Ron laid his eyes on the paper, he knew it was a load of bull. All of the questions on the paper weren't related to the Dark Arts. Instead, it was all about Lockhart. He had half a mind not answering them but thought otherwise. So, he answered them in what he viewed was correct. By the time it was over, he was done insulting the professor and passed it with a satisfied grin on his face, earning an inquisitive look from Theodore.

Though the redhead thought the worst was over, it really wasn't. Their first lesson was completely absurd and full of nonsense; they were being taught how to subdue Cornish pixies. "What? Are you serious?" sneered Draco, earning nods from the other boys. Ron couldn't help but agree with the arrogant git.

"Of course I am," said Lockhart with a wide smile. "You should never underestimate them – they're nasty little blighters and you should be always on guard when it comes to them!"

"You should watch out, then," said Theodore in a barely audible voice, earning smirks from Blaise and Draco.

"Now I'm going to release them," warned the professor. "but I will tell you the spell to be used against them – repeat after me –_Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"_ Everyone shared a doubtful glance before repeating the words in drones. "Excellent. I'm going to open the cage in three – two – one –" He unlocked the cages and the creatures zoomed out in frenzy. "Don't be afraid – just say the incantation!" On cue, some of the pixies launched themselves to his direction with a manic glint in their eyes. Lockhart ducked under his desk with his hands protecting his hair, abandoning his wand.

Three or four Cornish pixies flew straight toward Crabbe and Goyle and started attacking them. The two boys yelped out and tried to punch them with their fists. Meanwhile, Pansy and her friends shrieked and ducked their heads, their wands unused. Ron saw one of them streaking in front of him; he raised his wand and said, "_Impedimenta!_" The pixie went immobile and fell on the ground. Before he could turn, more went straight towards his direction. He scowled. Ron didn't notice Theodore, Tracey and surprisingly Draco hexing the creatures and when it was all over, they realized that Lockhart was out of sight. "That idiotic ponce!" snarled Ron, stowing his wand inside his robes. "He just left!"

Theodore shrugged. Draco, as usual, sneered and scowled. "If Dumbledore weren't the Headmaster of this school, we wouldn't have that pea-brain teaching us right now –"

"Oh shut it," cut across Ron. 'Even if there's a new Headmaster, there's a good possibility we won't be able to get a decent one – we all know the job's jinxed and it's hard to find someone who's willing to take the job." Draco threw a glare at him but kept his mouth shut.

"And Lockhart's daft enough to take the job in my opinion," huffed Tracey before turning to face her friends. "Come on, you can stand up now."

The whole class left the room without putting the pixies back in the cage, ranting and insulting their Defense professor (although the girls still thought he was quite charming, much to Ron's disgust). Ron really wanted to ditch the subject with a professor teaching it but he knew it was futile. He went to the next class which was Herbology with the equipment he needed to use for the lesson. The day went by until it was dinnertime. Ron barely finished his meal when one of the first year Slytherin approached him and gave him a small note. Curious, he opened it and realized it was from the Head of Slytherin House, Severus Snape.

He read the note twice, feeling his stomach move queasily. _What did he want from me this time?_ He tried to recall any incident he did since yesterday but none came up. Sighing, he left the table and dragged himself to Snape's office. He knocked on the door and entered inside, his gaze falling on his Potions professor who sat behind his desk as usual. "Yes, sir?" called Ron tentatively.

Snape lifted his head, his black cold eyes boring against his blue orbs. "Mr. Weasley," he said, 'Lockhart approached me earlier and told me about what you answered in the test he gave during your first lesson," with a flick of his wand, a long parchment which Ron recognized it as his test paper. The Potions master glanced on the paper before placing it on the desk. "He said that it you are to receive a detention under him next Monday –"

"What?" reacted Ron, standing up and giving him a look of disbelief. "Why I should I get a detention?"

"Because of what you wrote down," said Snape smoothly. "and do not interrupt me or I will give you another detention after his." When Ron sat down again, he continued. "Now regarding what you wrote, it may be amusing but I don't think he shared the same sentiments – in fact, he believed that you were highly misinformed and someone might have tried to slander his good name –" he spat in disgust as he said this and Ron couldn't help but agree with his feelings, "- and that is why he wanted to…ah, rectify the mistake."

"But by giving me detention? What good will that do?" scowled Ron, slumping down on the chair. Sighing, he said slowly, "I'm sure the detention won't be horrible."

Snape scoffed. "You might be surprised."

Ron stared at him, trying to understand what he said. "But sir, it couldn't be _that_ bad."

"I'll tell you Mr. Weasley just between the two of us," said Snape steadily. "Your Defense professor may be an idiot –" Ron smirked, "- but an idiot can give detentions worse than you can imagine. Possibly worse than I gave you last year." Before Ron could ask what he meant, Snape continued, "Your detention will be only for one night right at eight in the evening – you will go to his office. Don't be late." Another flick of his wand the door swung open by itself. "You may leave."

The redhead could only nod and simply left the office, his mind buzzing. "It couldn't be that awful. He must be exaggerating it," he said lowly as to convince himself but felt otherwise.

* * *

><p>"You finally arrived on time, Mr. Weasley," greeted Lockhart as he opened the door and looking down merrily toward Ron who glared back at him. "Come in, come in," he stepped aside as Ron walked in and gawked at the interior of his office. All of the walls were filled of self-portraits, smiling widely to his direction.<p>

At the back of his mind, Snape's words repeated like an echo.

"Take a seat, young lad," Lockhart said airily, gesturing him to one of the lilac chairs beside him. Ron dragged himself and sat down rigidly. "Now I'm not going to give you hard time – don't even think this is a detention!"

_It already is_, thought Ron mutinously, clamping his mouth shut tightly to keep himself from retorting back.

Lockhart smiled at Ron and must have mistaken his silence for nervousness. "We're going to do something fun and you can even take notes if you like!" He picked up a lavender-scented parchment from his desk and gave it to Ron.

"What's this?" blurted out Ron, staring at the parchment confusingly. "Sir?" he added, not wanting to give him another reason for detention.

"Why, it's a chart," answered Lockhart, his smile widening that it made him look creepy. "We're going to chart my robes that I'll be wearing for the rest of the year – color combinations, along with the other clothing to be paired up with each robe," he told him cheerfully, not noticing Ron's horrified look. "Fun, isn't it?"

Rpn had a strong urge of killing himself on spot to end his suffering already.

But to be honest, he wanted to kill Lockhart badly so that he wouldn't be suffering in the first place "Don't be nervous, we're going to enjoying ourselves tonight!" said Lockhart as he opened his wardrobe and revealing his robes, horrifying Ron even more.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Oh it will be a long night. Poor Ron.<strong>_

_**Anyway, this chapter covers the second part of the Whomping Willow and Glideroy Lockhart.**_

_**The new Golden Trio might be a bit of a spotlight tomorrow. Also Ginny. As for Luna Lovegood, I don't know…what do you think? Should I add her? I'm undecided. The next chapter will cover Mudbloods and Murmurs, Deathday Party and if it's possible, The Writing on the Wall. More visions to come! Hopefully.**_

_**The last and third person complete a different kind of Trio will be revealed in two or three chapters.**_


	10. Chapter 9

Ron was in a foul mood the following day, shooting dark glares toward Lockhart's direction who would return it with a wide smile as if saying "No need to thank me, all in a day's work." The redhead barely said a word when he returned from the detention which took almost four hours. He would occasionally twitch his eyes, especially when he saw the colours Lockhart preferred.

Few days had gone by and nothing much happened at Hogwarts, except if one considered having Lockhart as a major displeasure in Defense Against the Dark Arts history. Majority of the males found him a pain in the arse, a total git, idiotic ponce, self-absorbed airhead, and many other insults and tag names they could ever think of. Only a small number of female students found him rather displeasing or conceited (most of them come from Slytherin). The other professors, though they didn't say it, abhorred the man who thought that he was better in the area they have most knowledge and experience. Even Flitwick, the good-nature Charms professor, seemed ruffled whenever he was in sight.

It was already a Saturday when Ron met with Ginny at the school grounds to spend time with one another. Ron told her some of the things that happened to him and made his younger sister laugh. "- and he was going on about the heavy responsibility of being famous and how it was hard on him," ranted the redhead. He coughed a bit and mimicked Lockhart's voice, "'The amount of work does not matter as long as you can help them, especially when you're as famous as me'."

Ginny giggled and shook her head. "You're really biting his head off, Ron."

"Who wouldn't?" he snorted. "He's the most insufferable git I've ever met in my entire life, worse than Malfoy I tell you." Sighing, he glanced at her and asked, "How about you? How's the life of a Gryffindor treating you?"

"It's fine," said Ginny simply, holding the diary in her hand and staring at it. "My dorm mates are nice."

Ron raised an eyebrow. 'That's all? No best mates or anything?'

She merely shrugged, her gaze from the diary unmoved.

"How about the Creevey boy? I thought you two are getting friendly –" continued Ron.

"We're not," cut across Ginny, her voice suddenly edgy and Ron thought he saw a red gleam flicker in her brown eyes. She then blinked and said apologetically, "Sorry, I'm just tired –"

"It's fine," said Ron gruffly but he felt perturbed. _Am I seeing things?_ "So how are your lessons? Which one do you like best?" They continued talking until it was already lunchtime. The two returned inside the castle and split as they entered the Great Hall to sit on their respective tables. As he ate, he couldn't help but feel worried for his younger sister. The only thing he could do was watch over her as much as he could and become a better brother to her.

"You're looking tense," commented Theodore one evening inside the boy's dormitory. Draco and the rest of the dorm mates were out and only he and Ron were left inside.

"Never you mind, Nott," scowled Ron. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed with his journal lying open before him. The vision he had from her and the dream greatly disturbed him and he had no idea what to do. He had very little information from the vision and could not find any clue every time he read it. "This is going to kill me," he said frustratingly.

"What are you reading?" Theodore moved his hand to get the journal but Ron slapped his hand away. "Touchy."

"You don't need to know which part I'm reading," snarled Ron. "You said yourself you only needed to know any visions relating to the upcoming war."

"And how can you say it's not related?" questioned the boy coolly. "For all we know, it could be indirectly related to it no matter what you say."

"Because," he said as he tried to control his irritation, "it's about my sister."

Theodore watched from where he stood, his eyes calculating. "Even so, she might be involved –"

"I'm not going to listen to you anymore," said Ron as he left his bed while grabbing his journal. He walked out of the dormitory without taking a glance back and went straight to the entrance. "Out of the way," he snarled at the person who just got in.

"How impolite!" the girl with blonde hair said with a harrumph before turning away.

Ron didn't bother responding and stepped out of the common room. He had no desire to go to any place and just kept on walking as his blood boil in anger. The words of Theodore echoed inside his mind and he couldn't shake it off. The very thought of his own sister involved with the war frightened him. _But she'll be involved with the war anyway in the future,_ said a small voice. He shook his head. "No, of course she won't," he said to himself.

_Then you're being ignorant. War involves everyone and your family are blood-traitors, even you,_ said the small voice pityingly.

He let out a deep sigh. He was being stupid. He should have known better than to think that his younger sister wouldn't be involved in the war. Knowing her, he was sure she would be involved even if her own family would be against it. She was a Weasley, after all. Ron looked around and realised he was at the second floor where the trophy room was located. Without thinking, he decided to visit the place and have a look around. He was thankful that no one was inside when he entered (he didn't feel like being in the same room with anyone at the moment).

As he expected, the trophy room was simply a room filled with golden cups of different sizes and designs. Most of the trophies were about the House cup and Quidditch cup and Ron noted that the most wins were from Slytherin recently but in the past, Gryffindor dominated more than twenty years ago. He checked the others and saw a few awards for individuals this time. He read each and was beginning to feel bored when one particular award caught his eye. It was a huge trophy with the words "Special Award for Services to the School" engraved on it.

"Tom Riddle…" read out Ron slowly. He wondered what the person did to be given such recognition since it didn't indicate what it was. After a minute, he gave up. "I'm sure he's somewhere enjoying his life," he muttered before walking away from the display.

* * *

><p>The days of September went by like minutes and it was already October. Ron was back inside the library and resumed researching defensive spells and some offensive hexes and jinxes. The only difference from last year was that this year, Theodore knew of this; one day, he lent him a book filled with various spells he could never imagine or heard before. "This might help you," said the weedy boy before turning away, leaving Ron bewildered and suspicious.<p>

But he wasn't the only one with a busy schedule in his year. Draco Malfoy was less seen inside the common room and every time he returned, he had a smug look on his face. Ron later found out that the Malfoy heir joined the Quidditch as their new seeker.

The former seeker of the team, Terrence Higgs, was in a foul mood when it happened. Ron couldn't blame him; from what he heard, Draco got in by bribing the whole team with the latest broom, the Nimbus two-thousand and one. "He'll get what he'll deserve soon," said one of Higgs's friends to him.

"If his father wasn't one of the school governors, I would've throttled him," said Higgs through gritted teeth.

_I wish the same thing on Malfoy,_ mused Ron as he walked up to his dormitory and entering inside. Unfortunately, Draco and his cronies were inside, talking amongst each other. The redhead's eye twitched slightly.

"You're here," jeered Draco as he took notice of him.

"I do sleep here," said Ron while rolling his eyes. "Just talk with your idiots there and mind your own business." He opened his trunk and pulled out a fresh roll of parchment, an inkpot and quill.

"Watch your tongue Weasley," said Blaise dangerously, shooting glares toward Ron's direction.

"Offended, are you?" sneered Ron.

Blaise stood up but Draco raised his hand to stop him, surprising both Blaise and Ron and among others. "Don't mind what he says," drawled the blonde. "He's just like the others who are jealous of me."

Ron scoffed. "Me? Jealous of you? You've got to be kidding," he sneered at him. "Stop hallucinating yourself Malfoy, no one's that senile to be jealous of you."

"Oh really?" smirked Draco. "You're not jealous that I'm part of the House's Quidditch team?"

Ron narrowed his eyes. "Not even the slightest," he hissed. He was, in fact, jealous that someone like Malfoy got in but he disapproved of his method. It wasn't right. "Bet you can't beat Gryffindor's Potter this upcoming match –"

"I will beat him," snarled Draco. "And besides, what are you going to bet? You have nothing –"

"I'll bet myself," said the redhead confidently. "If you beat Potter in the Quidditch game, I'll be your personal slave for a whole month." It was a huge risk but he was certain Potter wouldn't lose to anyone, especially not to Slytherin and Draco Malfoy.

Draco's eyes gleamed maliciously. "Fine, who's going to bet for me?" he questioned his companions.

"I'll bet seven Galleons on Draco," said Blaise. Crabbe and Goyle grunted, throwing four Galleons apiece on Blaise's hand. "How about you, Theo?" he asked, glancing toward Theodore who was calmly standing from one corner.

"I don't bet," said Theodore shortly, not looking their way.

Draco tutted. "You're missing the fun, then." He faced Ron, stormy grey against cerulean blue, and said, "Better prepare Weasley. You're going to lose."

"Let's see about that when the game ends," smirked Ron, leaving the dormitory with the parchment and other things in his hand. "Those fifteen Galleons are mine," he said smugly.

He thought the Draco Malfoy being part of the House's Quidditch team was awful, there was something worse that he had ever accomplished. Ron learned of it shortly after his stay at the library one day (he was researching for more spells and at the same time doing his Charms homework). He finally got out of the place with his bag hung over his shoulder and made his way down to the Slytherin dungeons using the spiralcase as a short route. Without warning, he saw a blur of brown colliding him on one side. "Oi! Watch where you're stepping!" hollered Ron angrily to the person who stopped.

"Or what?" snapped the person and Ron realised it was Hermione.

"What's your problem, Granger?" he questioned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said irritably, taking Ron's question offensive.

Annoyance rose inside Ron. "Yeah, you have no problem and yet you're biting my head off like a chimaera eating its prey," he said sarcastically. "I only asked a question and you're being –"

"- a what? A buck-tooth know-it-all? A human library?" cut across Hermione, glaring at him. "Or are you going to call me _that? _You Slytherins are all the same. You're no different from Malfoy and his friends –"

"Don't you compare me to that git!" growled Ron. "And what are you talking about?" He didn't know what the bushy-haired Gryffindor was miffed about.

"Stop acting dumb," snapped Hermione. "You know what I'm talking about."

Ron glared at her but his mind began searching until a single word entered his mind. He went pale and whispered, "What did he call you?"

"He called me a _Mudblood,_" said Hermione as her voice shook.

Ron dropped his bag and stared at her, speechless. "He – he called you _that?_" he hissed. "He shouldn't –"

"Well, he did," she said as her eyes began to blink.

"And you're thinking that I'm going to call you that as well since he and I are under the same House," said Ron as if reading her mind. "Just to let you know, I'm not. No one in their right mind should call a Muggleborn that." When Hermione didn't say anything, he continued. "Blood doesn't matter and I know Muggleborn wizards and witches can be better than purebloods. Don't let him or anyone get to you, alright Granger?"

The bushy-haired Gryffindor nodded once, her hair covering her face entirely which he was sure she was trying to hide her tears.

He approached her slowly and awkwardly patted her on the shoulder (they weren't even friends to begin with) and added finally, "Erm, I should go - other things to do –" he turned away and picked up his bag when he heard Hermione say something. "What?"

"Thank you," said Hermione softly, smiling weakly to him.

"Just show him who's better Granger," drawled Ron. "No one's going to be your saviour, not even Lockhart," he turned to one corner and he heard her saying "prat" and a smirk formed on his lips. He finally arrived inside the dungeons and entered inside the dormitory to take a short nap. As he closed his eyes, a thought went across his mind. _Why am I helping her out anyway?_

* * *

><p>Excitement filled the entire castle once more. It was already Halloween and everyone was looking forward for the feast that would take place inside the Great Hall. The students heard that their headmaster, Dumbledore, booked a troupe of dancing skeletons for entertainment which everyone hoped it was true. Ron head down from the Slytherin dungeons, anticipating the food and the rumour to enjoy himself (he seldom enjoys at Hogwarts if someone were to ask him). Before he could take a seat, he saw Percy making his way while earning sneers from the Slytherins.<p>

"What -?" asked Ron.

"Have you seen Ginny?" questioned Percy.

"No," he replied sarcastically. "I'm not from your House, remember?"

"Ron," said Percy exasperatedly. "I'm serious. Have you seen her? I told her to wait for me and she was gone when I came down –"

"I'm sure she's somewhere," he said reassuringly. "She must have gone to the loo."

Percy looked sceptic but nodded. "Maybe you're right," he sighed. "I'll just wait for her by the table," he bid him before turning away and returning back to the Gryffindor table to sit with his fellow Housemates.

Ron was worried as he thought of his sister. _She couldn't be lost,_ he said mentally to himself. He was about to leave the table when the feast began. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ginny entering from the entrance hall and he sat down, relieved. He enjoyed the feast, better than last year (only because it was interrupted by a fully-grown mountain troll that mysteriously managed to get in) and the rumour about the dancing skeletons was true after all. He didn't even notice that three students weren't present until a few minutes after the feast.

Everyone walked out from entrance hall, with the two Houses – Gryffindor and Ravenclaw - going up the staircases. But the students began to stop, causing curiosity amongst the students, even the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs who were about to head their way to the dungeons. Ron saw Draco forcing his way up but feeling curious as well, he climbed up the stairs to find out until he saw it.

In the middle of the passageway stood Harry, Neville and Hermione, who looked shocked and nervous. Ron craned his neck to get a better look but he noticed that something was written on the wall.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.

ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

And right beside the writing on the wall was something familiar hanging by the torch, which Ron realised in the end, was Mrs. Norris, Filch's loyal familiar.

"'Enemies of the Heir, beware!' You'll be next, Mudbloods!" Draco's voice shouted in glee, his voice thundered across the corridor. Though everyone was too shocked to react to what he shouted, Ron wanted to throttle him on spot and at the same time wonder what the message really mean.

* * *

><p>For the next few days, every student had been talking about one thing: the Chamber of Secrets. Even Ron was curious about the said topic; he first went inside the library to find out about it but it seemed that the only book that mentioned of the Chamber was already booked by so many (there were only five copies of Hogwarts, A History). So the only way he would know of it was asking Theodore Nott one evening.<p>

"Cooled down, have you?" drawled Theodore before Ron could open his mouth.

Ron twitched his eye slightly. "Yeah," he said tersely. They were in the secret room at the fourth floor. It was tidier than before since Theodore ordered his House-elf to clean the place and fix one of the chairs. "I wanted to know about the Chamber of Secrets."

"You don't know?" he asked, one of his eyebrows raised.

"If I had known about it, I wouldn't have asked you in the first place," scowled Ron. "Just tell me, Nott."

Theodore shook his head lightly. "Well Weasley, the Chamber of Secrets is one of the popular myths among Slytherins, and to older students before," he told him. "the Chamber was built by no other than Salazar Slytherin. We all know what happened between the Founders; there was a rift between Godric Gryffindor and Slytherin due to letting wizards and witches with Muggle parentage. Gryffindor supported them and Slytherin didn't because of the persecution happening in earlier times. Then one day, Slytherin left but it was said that he built a chamber somewhere inside Hogwarts before he left. As the legend says, only the heir of Slytherin can open the Chamber and unleash the terror within to eradicate those who are undeserving to study magic."

Ron frowned. "And the ones who are undeserving are the Muggleborns, huh?"

"Possibly since Salazar didn't trust wizards and witches with Muggle parentage," said Theodore simply.

"But what do you mean by 'unleash the terror within'?" the redhead questioned as his mind spun around.

"From what my father once told me, there's a monster living inside the Chamber that only Salazar Slytherin or his heir can control," said Theodore thoughtfully. "If I were to guess, it's something related to Slytherin."

"That's not much information," sighed Ron as he slumped back on the chair. "But I wonder," he began.

"What?" asked Theodore, looking closely at him.

"If the Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened, who opened it?" asked Ron aloud. "I mean, like you said, only the heir of Slytherin can open the Chamber itself."

Theodore had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Fair point, Weasley," he mused. "Who could the heir be…? From what I know, the male bloodline of Salazar ended almost eight hundred centuries ago. Surely the descendants have taken a different name by now."

"And you know this how?"

"_Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy,_" the weedy boy answered shortly. "It's a book about the pureblood families whose male line had been extinct centuries ago."

Ron shook his head. "Enough about pureblood mania, I'm a blood-traitor for Merlin's sake," he groaned. After a couple of minutes, the two left the room and parted ways, their backs turned against each other. The information he just gained recently still hadn't died down; the thought of Slytherin's descendant still living amongst them made him shiver in disgust. "It's certain," he muttered to himself. "The heir is someone in the Slytherin House, no doubt about that."

From the corner of his eyes, he saw a trail of small black spiders crawling out of the window. He quickly looked away, feeling his body shuddering involuntarily. If it weren't for Fred, he wouldn't have this bloody fear of the arachnids in the first place. As he passed by the place where the message on the wall was written (Filch couldn't get it removed), he didn't notice three Gryffindors lurking around in the corner and entering one of the rooms nearby.

"Ron! What are you doing there?" Percy's voice rang across Ron's right side.

The Slytherin redhead jerked his head and saw his older brother approaching him swiftly. "What is it this time?" he asked defensively. He didn't like the accusatory tone of his.

"You shouldn't be here, what if -?" began Percy.

"- people start suspecting that I'm the one who wrote the wall and attacked Mrs. Norris?" finished Ron while raising his eyebrows. "That's bollocks, even you know that."

Percy flushed but kept his stern expression. "That may be so, but it won't from other people. Most of the students think that the heir is –"

"Potter since he was caught at the scene of the crime?" interrupted Ron again and rolling his eyes. "Look Perce, Potter couldn't be the heir – firstly he's a Gryffindor, secondly, he's not just the only who got caught at that time because he was with Longbottom and Granger, and thirdly people aren't using their brains properly. Seriously, don't be like them, you earned twelve OWLs."

His older brother's ears went slightly pink in response to the comment made by Ron on his OWLs but said firmly, "Ron, I don't want you seeing in this area, is that clear?"

"Fine, if that'll make you happy," he agreed slowly before his stomach rumbled.

Ron flushed while Percy chuckled. He took out a piece of Chocolate Frogs from his robes and offered it to him. "You can have this. Your stomach needs it more than I do now," he said as he and Ron strode away from the scene.

"Thanks," said Ron gratefully and moving his hand to get the frog. Before he could touch the sweet, his fingers brushed on Percy's palm and earned a vision that caught him by surprise.

"_I can't believe you're going to take his side!" shouted an older Percy, his face contorted in anger. "How can you be sure that he's telling the truth? Where's the proof? Nothing! I can't stand staying here any longer,"' he said. He turned away and summoned his trunk from upstairs using his wand._

"_Perce, please don't –" said Mrs. Weasley frantically, grabbing her son by the arm._

"_If you want to leave, I'm not going to stop you," said Mr. Weasley coldly, shocking his wife and Percy himself. _Even Ron was shocked and he couldn't believe what he was hearing. _"But once you step out of the door, you are no longer my son."_

_Percy stiffened as he heard this but faced his father with an indifferent look on his face. "You never considered me as your son in the first place, that's how I see it." He yanked his arm from his mother's clasp, grabbed his trunk and left the Burrow from the door._

_Mrs. Weasley dropped on her knees and wept hard while Mr. Weasley turned away from the door, his face showing mixed emotions of anger, disappointment and sadness._

Ron blinked a couple of times and saw his brother watching him worriedly. He then realized that tears were starting to form from the corner of his eyes. He couldn't believe what he just foresaw: Percy just left the family. His family was going to break apart in a few years' time.

"Ron, are you -?" asked his older brother in concern.

"Something just got in my eye, it must be the dust," lied Ron, rubbing his eyes with his sleeves to be more convincing. "I remember I have to do something important right now – I'll see you Perce," he hastily ran away from Percy and went to an empty classroom. He locked the door behind him and leaned against it, breathing heavily. The vision he had just now horrified him greatly. _Why? Why would Percy leave us? What's going on in the future?_ Numerous scenarios entered his mind none of it could make sense to what he saw. Then he remembered what older Percy said – his parents believed in someone else and Percy didn't believe in the same person, which sparked the argument.

"But who is that person?" questioned Ron to himself and thinking about the person made him angry. Whoever that person was, his family was falling apart because of him. He clenched his fists. If he knew who that person was, he would pay for what he would be doing in the future.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ahh it's shorter than the last two chapters. Oh well.<strong>_

_**I know nothing much has happened. I mean, he's not part of the Golden Trio. And him about asking Nott is reasonable since he didn't know about the Chamber of Secrets and I believe most of the Slytherins (the ones who are allied with Voldemort) would know about it more than anyone else. **_

_**Hmm…I think the next chapter will be more difficult for Ron and possibly you might know about the last person who will fill in the new trio. Do you think Ron will get the Galleons that easily?**_


	11. Chapter 10

It was the Quidditch season once again.

Like last year, excitement and tension rose and filled inside Hogwarts. The first game was Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw and as Ron guessed, Ravenclaw outperformed the House of Badger by sixty points. Ron sat beside Ginny and the rest of the Weasley siblings (minus Percy who preferred to focus more on his studies). Ginny's eyes were glued on the game, her eyes widening in fascination and awe while Ron and the twins threw a number of points about the two teams' performance.

"Well, that was rather something," said George as everyone trooped out from the stands.

"Yeah," nodded Fred. "Hufflepuff almost won over against Ravenclaw. I guess we should watch out for them."

"You'll win," said Ron confidently and he briefly remembered the bet he and Draco made few weeks ago. "You're going to get the cup this year, that's for sure."

"That'll make Oliver's day," grinned George while Fred chortled. "So did you enjoy the game?" he asked to his younger sister.

"It's great, it's better than the games you played at home," said Ginny with a smile. Though it wasn't in her hand, Ron knew she brought her journal which was pocketed in her robes. "What are you thinking, Ron?" she suddenly asked.

Ron blinked and said, "Oh nothing. Just something not important." _Not really since I'll be getting those Galleons__ in no time__._

"Keeping secrets, are you Ronniekinns?" teased Fred lightly as the young redhead Slytherin scowled. "Careful now, you might become a fully-fledged snake if you continue doing that."

"Yeah right, all of us have something to keep to ourselves," said Ron scratchily, not noticing Ginny's shifty expression. "Anyway, I have to go now. I have to finish one homework I have – tomorrow's the deadline –"

"Alright, just watch the next game – we're going to kick your House's arse," called out George as Ron went to another direction.

"I'm sure you will," laughed Ron before going out of sight. "You should win," he muttered to himself as he paced down the hallway quickly. "My dignity and pride are on the line." For the next following days before the awaited match, Ron couldn't help but be nervous, but thankfully enough he didn't show it because that would surely make Draco happier if he were. Every evening before he went to bed, he wished badly that the House of lions would win the first match or die trying.

* * *

><p>On the day of the fated match, Ron sat on his usual spot, feeling his hands shaking uncontrollably but managed to stifle it. He watched both teams making their way out on the pitch with their brooms in their hands, zoning out the noise erupting from his surroundings. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Blaise Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle approaching on his right side. "Ready to lose, Weasley?" smirked the dark boy while the other two grunted.<p>

"Let's see about that Zabini," growled Ron and the next thing he knew, the game had begun.

For the next six minutes, the Slytherin team had been gaining the upper hand with sixty points. The House of snakes from the stands cheered madly as the points went up. Ron's knuckles were turning white, his anxiety rising. He looked around and finally saw Harry between his older brothers Fred and George as if being guarded by them. Then he realized one particular Bludger had been repeatedly going to Harry's way without halt.

_Don't tell me the Bludger's been -?_ Ron's thoughts were interrupted when Gryffindor's Quidditch captain, Oliver Wood, called for a time-out. As the Gryffindor team huddled together, he watched the other team; every one of them wore smirks on their faces, with the most noticeable one from Draco. Ron scowled at the sight. Though he expected the time-out would last a bit longer (he thought they would discuss new tactics), the game was back on and to Ron's surprise, his brothers weren't there around Harry to block the rogue Bludger.

He watched in awe and shock as Harry turned, spun, rotate and other ridiculous-looking stunts just to avoid the menace. Then moments later, he was finally hit on the left arm and staggered a bit from the collision. "You're going to lose this one," laughed Blaise.

"It's not ever yet," breathed Ron, his eyes glued on Harry.

The Gryffindor Seeker continued to fly and avoided the relentless attacks of the Bludger while his left arm was rendered motionless. To Ron's shock, he saw Harry zooming straight at Draco. "He's going to attack Draco!" cried Pansy Parkinson while the others near her gasped.

The next thing that happened, Ron could see the Golden Snitch struggled helplessly in Harry's right hand. A grin broke on Ron's face and he shouted gleefully as he punched the air with his fist, "YES! They won!"

He didn't care when Harry fainted on spot while holding the Snitch, that Lockhart was approaching Harry for some unknown reason, or how the Bludger was fixed. He simply didn't because right now he knew that he won against Draco and his cronies and that he'd earn a couple of Galleons so easily. He turned and smirked at Blaise and his other dorm mates who were quite sour and said coolly, "Now who just lost, eh?"

"Shut it, Weasley," snapped Blaise, his face flushed.

"Well? Where's my prize?" said Ron, raising an eyebrow at them. "You can't break your word or that'll make you look really pathetic, mind you."

Blaise growled as he rummaged and pulled out a pouch. He then tossed it to Ron and said spitefully, "Here's your Galleons. I'm sure you really need it since you're dirt-poor."

Ron rolled his eyes and opened it to check if it's real. "Is that all you can say? Pathetic –" _It gets tiring hearing you lot saying that I'm poor. But it doesn't matter because as long as my family's well, it's fine._ He counted the golden coins and smiled in satisfaction. "Nice making business with you," he said cheerfully to annoy them more.

But that feeling of triumph didn't last when something terrible happened later that night. One of the students in the name of Colin Creevey was petrified who was found on one of the floors in his pyjamas. This terrified the students, especially the Muggleborns and rumors began to spread around, particularly about Harry Potter. One of the most prominent rumours was that Harry Potter was the one attacking the students since he was there.

"That's a load of bull," said Ron to Theodore as they made their way out to the dungeons one day. Apparently, Theodore made some excuse to Draco and his cronies about having to finish the Potions project with Ron so that seeing them together wouldn't be suspicious. "Harry Potter – Heir of Slytherin?"

Theodore shrugged. "Everyone here will believe in everything. Since Potter was caught in the scene twice –"

"Not exactly," cut across Ron. "I heard that Creevey boy was petrified somewhere in Hogwarts, not where Potter was – speaking of which, don't you think Lockhart is a danger to everyone? Removing a person's bones –" They entered inside the Potions classroom and during class Ron didn't expect something would happen.

He knew Goyle was terrible at potion-making (he only passed because he was a Slytherin and Snape wouldn't fail anyone from his House), but it was odd. This time, they were on solo work and as everyone were minding their own potion when it happened; Ron saw a glimpse on something shooting toward Goyle's cauldron and the cauldron exploded. The students close to him screamed, ducked and ran away from spot while Goyle took most of the damage. As Snape cleaned up the mess and administered cures for those who were caught by the potion, Ron glanced around and saw Harry covering his mouth and trying his hardest not to laugh.

It dawned to him that it was Harry who exploded Goyle's cauldron, "If I ever find out who threw this," Snape whispered in fury as he held up a piece of firework in his hand and sweeping a hard glare to everyone, especially at Harry's direction, "I shall make sure that person is expelled."

Ron grimaced. If Snape knew who the culprit was, the person would be dead a thousand times over. He decided throughout the rest of the period not to say anything about what he saw and pretended not to have seen something. It was betraying but Ron didn't care much because he wasn't exactly loyal to the Slytherin House.

* * *

><p>A few more days passed by and a different kind of rumour floated across the whole school. Apparently, it wasn't as farfetched considering where it came from; from the notice board on the entrance hall was a piece of parchment hung with words that caught the attention of the students passing by. Ron went in to see it for himself and stared incredulously at it. "A Dueling Club?" he repeated. "Is this for real?"<p>

"Definitely," answered Fred who suddenly appeared behind Ron's back.

"Fred!'" scowled Ron who was surprised by Fred's sudden response.

Fred simply ignored his reaction and asked casually, "So, who do you reckon's going to oversee the whole thing?"

"I dunno," grumbled Ron. "Where's George?"

"Right beside you, Ickle Ronniekinns," replied George the same way his twin brother did earlier. "If you ask me, I hope it's anyone but Lockhart because if it's him –"

"- it's no-brainer it'll end in disaster," finished his twin.

"We'll just hope it isn't him," said Ron sighing. Sadly, fate wasn't on their side.

At exactly eight in the evening, the four tables in the Great Hall vanished and only a platform stationed at the middle was there. Students of all ages were milling inside, surrounding the platform and talking amongst each other. Ron stood somewhere near the right end of the hall, not wanting to get bumped too much. He glanced around to see who would be teaching but ended up groaning instead: walking up the stage was no other than Lockhart and surprisingly enough, following behind him in his usual black was Snape, looking more sinister than ever.

"This is going to be interesting," mused Theodore who leaned against the wall, watching with mild interest.

"Humorous," snorted Ron. "Do you think Snape will finish off the git in one go?"

"He can," answered the weedy boy shortly. "But considering they're up on the stage, Snape will have to restrain himself and that'll be a feat."

"True," sighed Ron, glancing at the two. "I just hope Snape will embarrass him big time." Few moments later, his wish finally came true when Snape used a strong Disarming spell against Lockhart which knocked him off his feet. He and the other Slytherins cheered for their Head House for what he did on the man. When the demonstration was over, they began pairing students and have them try to do the same thing (Ron doubted if anyone of them could do what Snape did).

As Ron expected, the whole event was turning out to be a joke. None of the students chosen were good enough or as close to what they had seen in the demonstration. Even Hermione, one of the students chosen, wasn't doing much as her head was in a headlock by Millicent Bulstrode.

"This is getting pathetic," said Ron dryly.

"It is," said a female voice suddenly. Ron and Theodore jerked their heads and saw Tracey Davis standing close with her hands on her waist. "Do you think it's possible if we leave the place? It's such a waste of time," she said boringly.

Both Ron and Theodore stared at each other, wondering who should reply. "I don't think they'll notice someone leave," said Theo to her. "But won't that be rude of you to leave Bulstrode?"

"True," agreed Tracey before turning her head. "Hullo Daphne," she greeted to one of her dorm mates.

"Tracey," acknowledged the blonde girl with a well-practised smile. "Enjoying the event?"

"Hardly," Tracey rolled her eyes.

As the two girls talked, Ron couldn't help but be annoyed. _Of all the places they can talk, why here?__,_ thought Ron irritably as he tried to pay attention on the duelling (or lack of it). "Oi you two, will you go somewhere else?" he said while scowling. "I don't want to hear you two talking about useless garb –"

Before Tracey could say anything, the other girl turned around and said, "I had it enough with you Ronald Weasley, you are becoming too rude to us." Theodore raised an eyebrow, surprised by the outburst made by her.

"What did you call me -?" gaped Ron.

"Isn't your name Ronald?" said Daphne inquiringly. "Anyway, you're too rude and inconsiderate to us females. I've seen you treating everyone like insignificant beings and yet we didn't do anything to you –"

"And what do you care anyway, Greengrass?" sneered Ron, recovering his spite against Slytherins. "It's none of your business how I treat –"

"Oh yes I do," interjected Daphne, now glaring at him.

"Daphne, it's useless –" began Tracey, shooting Ron a hard look.

"It won't," said Daphne firmly. She took one step forward toward Ron, who inched back instinctively, and said in her most authoritative tone, "I do not care if you hate us Slytherins or that you got yourself in this House – don't deny it, I know people like you despise the House of Snakes for obvious reasons – but that doesn't mean you can treat us so rude. You have been mean to me twice and this is the third time; I'm not going to let this slide."

"What do you mean twice? I didn't –" argued Ron.

"I was the one who you rudely told me and I quote 'Out of the way' one day from the Slytherin common room when I just got in," she reminded, her eyes narrowing. "Don't deny it." When Ron didn't respond she continued.

"I am a Greengrass, one of the most prominent and well-respected families in the wizarding Britain," she said. "And you are a Weasley. Despite the financial disposition -" Ron twitched slightly, "- you are currently in, you and your family are also respected amongst others. I expect that you respect me as I would have respected you. And honestly, I haven't done anything to you in the first place, nor have the others you've been treating so poorly. You should be ashamed of yourself. And need I have to point out, you're acting like Draco –"

"Don't compare me to that git!" hissed Ron before shooting a glare toward Theodore. "Not funny, Nott."

"She does have a point," said Theodore while shrugging.

Ron couldn't believe this was happening. Right now, Daphne Greengrass greatly reminded him of his mother. "I – you –" he spluttered.

"I know I do not have any authority or say on your actions but the least you can do is be civil to those who didn't do anything bad to you," said Daphne softly, sighing slightly and relaxing her shoulders. "That is all I'm asking." She turned to face Tracey and Theodore and said with a smile, "I should look for Pansy – she might be wondering where I am." She gave the three a small curtsy and left.

"I can't believe she said that," blurted out Ron finally, earning questioning looks from both Tracey and Theodore.

"Well, I can't believe you're a prat to those who have done nothing to you," said Tracey with a huff while crossing her arms. "If I were treated so rudely, I would've –" she stopped abruptly and turned to look over the stage when Theodore gestured to watch. "Hmph. This should be interesting."

Ron moved to see and grimaced slightly. "Interesting is an understatement," he said dryly.

On the stage other than Snape and Lockhart were none other than Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy with both of their wands raised and pointing at each other, wearing a determined yet serious look. Almost everyone fell silent as they watched the two steadily. "On the count of three – two –" said Lockhart loudly.

Draco threw the first spell, hitting Harry perfectly. The raven-haired wizard fell down, looking as if getting hit by something hard judging by his face but managed to fire a spell at the blonde Slytherin in retaliation. Draco collapsed in a fit of laughter, his laugh ringing across the hall. "Too basic," drawled Theodore, tilting his head away from the scene.

"Well they are second years, all of us I mean," pointed out Tracey. "And we hardly learned anything from last year. Even this year," she added with a scowl.

_Nott is an exemption, possibly Granger,_ said Ron mentally as he watched.

Then, something happened after the first round. After Snape whispered something in Draco's ear (Ron suspected the Slytherin Head instructed a spell to the git) and when the second round began, he shouted "_Serpensortia__!"_ With a loud bang, a black poisonous-looking snake erupted from his wand and slithered its way toward Harry before turning to face one Hufflepuff student whom Ron barely recognized. Before the snake could strike its fangs on the boy, Harry did something that shocked everyone: he let out a hiss, directing it to the snake and disturbingly enough, the snake responded by coiling itself.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the Boy-Who-Lived who was looking around with a grin on his face but was replaced with confusion and worry. Then both Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger pulled him down and hastily left the hall, dodging everyone in their way.

The moment they left, Snape raised his wand and vanquished the snake. "The Dueling Club is now over, go back to your common rooms," said Snape in his deadly strict tone before leaving the stage, his black robes billowing behind him. Ron decided to leave the hall along with Theodore and Tracey (and Millicent who had re-joined them). As he walked, his mind went reeling in what he had just witnessed. _Potter is a Parselmouth._

When the Slytherins entered the common room, everyone began talking. "I can't believe it –" said one seventh year.

"How can that possibly happen? He's a Gryffindor –"

"That's supposed to be an inherited trait – how he did he get that ability -?"

"Do you think it's the reason why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him as a baby -?"

"What do you think?" murmured Theodore to Ron as everyone was too busy talking about what happened.

"…it's mental," said Ron without looking at him. "Potter, Gryffindor Golden boy, vanquisher of You-Know-Who, a Parselmouth. Since that happened, more will think he's the heir."

"And you still think he's not?" questioned Theodore.

"No," he snorted. "Firstly, he's a goody-two shoes. Secondly, he's best mates with a Muggle-born so I doubt he's the heir." He left the weedy boy and clambered up to the dormitory to sleep. Before he could enter the dormitory, he heard Draco talking. "- matter if he can speak Parseltongue, he's still Potter and he's associated with blood-traitors and Mudbloods –" Ron felt a rising urge to hex him on spot but supressed it. Shaking his head, he entered inside and went straight to bed.

_But what if Potter is indeed the Heir of Slytherin?_ With that last thought, Ron fell asleep and hoped for the best the following. But things turned out for the worse; another Muggle-born was attacked during daylight and it was a second year Hufflepuff who almost got bitten by the snake from the Dueling Club along with the Gryffindor ghost called Nearly-Headless Nick. From what he also heard, Potter was found with the two victims and this fuelled the rumours about him more.

* * *

><p>The weather became colder and frostier, and snow fell from the sky more often when December came. Hardly anyone signed up to stay at Hogwarts as everyone wanted to be with their families and avoiding to be the next victim altogether. Surprisingly enough, Ron noticed that Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle decided to stay and wondered suspiciously what made them decide to stay here rather than at his home where he preferred much more.<p>

But there were more pressing matters to think about. Ron was torn whether he should go back to the Burrow or not. "Have you decided?" asked Percy one evening, a week before the end of the first term. They were in the secluded corner of the library, near the Restricted Section. Percy was surrounded with a number of huge books and a couple of parchments and quills were scattered across the table.

"I'm not sure," grumbled the youngest Weasley. "I wanted to but staying in the dorm with Malfoy and his two idiots doesn't make it appealing to be honest."

Percry pressed his lips as though forcing himself not to retort to his choice of words about his Housemates. "It's your choice," he said to him as he picked up a quill. "It'll be nice if you stay here with us. But you can go to Egypt with Mum and Dad to see Bill –"

"And talk about how expensive it is to there," murmured Ron, sighing. "I don't want to burden them."

The two fell silent as Ron said this. Although they wouldn't say it, it was hard living in borderline poverty. Yes, they were still lucky to still have food on the table, have a house of their own, and clothes to wear, but it was still hard. But they always tried to overlook it become resourceful on things they could hardly have. And they had to admit, they grew up in a good environment with loving parents. "Well Ron," said Percy, cutting off the silence, "You still have a few more days to decide."

"Yeah, I know," grumbled Ron before standing up. "Thanks for listening, I don't think Fred or George will hear me out -'

"It's no problem," he said airily, waving his hand offhandedly. "I'm your older brother – it's my duty to take care of my younger siblings. Just go and enjoy yourselves, but not too much – you still have to study –"

"Yeah, yeah, I get you," Ron rolled his eyes. "But I should say that to you. Don't study too much and enjoy a bit – it's bad for the brain and your social life," before he could hear any reply from his older brother, he left the table and walked out from the library.

The more he thought about staying at Hogwarts, the more he wished to book a seat at the Hogwarts Express and stay away from Malfoy as much as possible. Three days before the end of term, he almost decided to come home and join his parents to visit his older brother Bill in Egypt when something else changed his mind immediately. Ron thought he was punishing himself for no reason at all but it seemed worth it to say the least.

He was on his way to the notice board in the Great Hall with a self-inking quill in his hand (he borrowed it from George whom he met on the way) to get a seat from the train when he ran into Harry and Neville. He almost fell on the floor but managed not to and fumbled on his feet. "Sorry," mumbled Harry without looking at him.

"Yeah, you seem to be in a hurry," noted Ron, raising an eyebrow at him. "Heard from my brothers you're going to have some tea with your fanged servant."

Harry and Neville stared at him. Then Harry cracked a small grin. "You don't believe that -?"

"- you're the Heir of Slytherin? Nope," shrugged Ron. "That's a load of Hippogriff dung. Two reasons: you're in Gryffindor and you're best mates with Granger who's a Muggle-born. People aren't making sense these days."

Harry seemed to have lightened up slightly after hearing him talk. "Thanks," he said quietly, avoiding pointing looks and whispers coming from the other students passing by.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Don't mind them," he said offhandedly. "They'd believe in anything. It always happens here, that's what my brothers says." He saw a quill lying on the floor between him and the two Gryffindors and bent down to pick it up. "This must be yours," he said as he handed it to Harry.

"Thanks," said the raven-haired Gryffindor, accepting it.

Much to Ron's surprise, his surroundings changed and he knew at once that he earned himself another vision.

_Harry stood inside one stall with one glass filled with khaki-colored bumpy substance Ron didn't want to know. As he watched in disgust and horror, Harry pinched his nose and took two huge gulps from the glass and almost gagged from the taste. Then he doubled up – clutching his stomach as if having a tummy ache. It was the oddest thing Ron ever seen; Harry's skin began to bubble and steadily his face and body began to expand until he turned into Goyle, much to his shock._

The redhead blinked a couple of times. _What just happened to him?_ He didn't realize he was staring at Harry as if he had grown an extra limb on his face until Neville dared to call him from his reverie. "Er – I believe George is calling me," he said hastily without answering the round-faced boy's question and ran away from them.

He turned to the right corner and made his way down to the Slytherin dungeons in a hurry. "Oi Nott," called Ron, ignoring the questioning looks from the other Slytherins.

Sitting with Theodore in the common room were Draco and his followers. "And what do you want from him, Weasel?" sneered Draco.

"Never you mind, you skinny albino," snarled back Ron. "Sheesh, don't your parents feed you enough food?" turning away from him, he said to Nott, "Potions work. Now."

Theodore stood up to leave. "Where are you going? Don't tell me you're actually going with that filthy blood-traitor?" questioned Blaise. He was still upset with Ron winning the bet and Gryffindor winning against Slytherin for the second time.

"I don't want to fail in case you don't remember," drawled Theodore before leaving them. "Let's go," he said to Ron with his barely moving.

"Just don't stay with that disgrace too long, his poorness might rub off you," yelled out Draco and earned a number of laughs and shrieks from the others.

"That stinking, foul –" Ron muttered under his breath as he and Theodore left the dungeons until they were in a secluded area. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down and faced Theodore. "Right, sorry to drag you from your inner cool circle," said Ron sarcastically. "But I need to ask you something and I'm hoping – more on expecting you - to answer it."

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

Ron began telling him what he had seen earlier, not leaving out any details. "- and in the end, he turned into Goyle! What on Merlin's sagging pants happened?" he finished with a confusing look on his face.

"Obviously you're not listening to Snape's lectures," he said mildly, earning an irritated look from the redhead.

"Just tell me what it is, Nott," said Ron testily, glaring at him.

"Polyjuice potion," answered Theodore shortly. "It's a potion that can make any person except for giants or any half-breeds alter their appearance to another person for only an hour. It's a complicated and very dangerous to make. From what you have just told me, it's the only potion that can do that."

Ron stared at him then sighed. "So, a Polyjuice potion," he muttered. "Why would Potter want to turn into Goyle anyway? I don't understand – wait," a thought went across his mind and a number of things began to crop up. "I'm sure Granger is the one making the potion – I doubt Potter or Longbottom can make one – and since Potter will drink it, I'm sure the other two will do too, so that means –"

"- they're taking the appearance of other Slytherins," finished Theodore, catching on what Ron's thinking. "If they had planned this for a long time, then they must have gotten at least a hair from some Slytherins like Potter getting Goyle's."

"That's right," nodded Ron. "And if we're going to guess what they're planning, it's –"

"To get inside the Slytherin dungeons," said the two.

"That sounds impossible, no one has ever done that - entering another House's common room," he said, frowning slightly. "The only way they can find any of the House's destinations is if one of the students from that House shows them where it is located. No can be that stupid."

"Unless they're taking the appearance of another person," reminded Theodore. "And no one is dumber than Crabbe and Goyle. They tend to forget the password so they have to be with Malfoy most of the time."

"Fair point," noted Ron. "Well, what do you think? Why would they want to enter to our dungeons? I don't see –"

"Unless they're looking for something," pointed out Theodore. "For every act, there's a reason. And besides, it proves to be interesting what those Gyffindors are capable of doing." He turned around and began leaving Ron.

"Oi where are you going?" called out Ron.

"I have a change of plans," he said coolly without looking back.

Ron didn't understand what he said until the following day. On the notice board inside the Slytherin dungeons, Theodore's name was written down right below Crabbe's scrawled name. Theodore had decided to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays, which surprised both Ron and Draco. "What made you change your mind, Theo?" asked Draco curiously as all of the Slytherins made their way to the Transfiguration classroom.

"I thought it's a good change to try and stay here," shrugged Theodore. "And I don't like going to Transylvania and visit my distant relatives – tiring –"

Ron suppressed a snort. He knew what really changed the weedy boy's mind. _It's going to be an interesting holiday,_ mused he as he and the others entered the classroom and took a seat.

* * *

><p><em><strong>It took a while, sorry about that!<strong>_

_**Here's the latest chapter and Ron decided to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays along with Theodore! Yes, Daphne Greengrass put her foot down and scolded Ron for his rude actions. Tracey Davies seems like a cool girl in my opinion but who knows? Draco is still a spoiled brat, so is Blaise, and Crabbe and Goyle are still Crabbe and Goyle lol.**_

_**This chapter covers Rogue Bludger, Duelling Club and some bit of Polyjuice Potion. I'm not sure how many chapters book 2 will have but we're reaching half of the year anyway. The next one will cover Polyjuice Potion and A Very Secret Diary. Not sure if I'll add Cornelius Fudge but I'll be able to decide in the end.**_


	12. Chapter 11

It was the first time Ron had seen Hogwarts so vacant but it was to be expected since it was already the Christmas holidays. He could now enjoy wandering around without bothering about getting bumped in the way or avoiding anyone in his wake and it was good. Although he wouldn't say it, he was grateful that Theodore had come to stay; it made things such as sleeping inside the dormitory with Draco, Crabbe and Goyle more bearable.

Of course, it was still irritating that he had to hear him insult him every chance they were together but Ron tried his hardest to ignore it but sometimes he couldn't help but threw back insults in satisfaction.

He spent most of his time with his siblings, and sometimes they were with Harry and Neville, seldom with Hermione who preferred reading and watching. Ron and the others were mostly outside the castle, playing snowball fights or hide and seek. Ron never had so much fun in a long time (he also had fun during summer holidays at the Burrow but that was once a year) during his stay at Hogwarts and he was glad he was having the time of his life while he still could.

Ron didn't forget the reason for his stay; he was always on the look-out, especially when Harry, Neville and Hermione were around. He would glance their way to watch over their movements, something he learned in Slytherin and being an outcast. Seldom, Theodore would join but on his own Slytherin way.

When Christmas had arrived, Ron saw his own batch of presents on the foot of his bed right after he woke up. He crawled out from the covers, sat cross-legged on the floor and began to unwrap it, not caring if he had woken up his Housemates. "Your family still managed to give you presents? That might've cost them a lot," said Draco spitefully the moment he saw Ron opening his haul.

"And your point?" Ron rolled his eyes before he picked up the sweater his mother always made every year. "And it's maroon. Again," he muttered while shaking his head.

Draco gave him a look of utmost disgust before opening his presents.

Ron decided to ignore him and opened the rest of his presents. From his older brother Percy, he got a book about becoming successful (he snorted at this), a stash of Dungbombs and Stink pellets from the twins (with a note suggesting him to use them against any Slytherin he detested), a book about Egyptian hexes and jinxes from Bill, a variety of rare dragon scales from Charlie, and a fresh set of scented parchment and some quills from Ginny. "Great haul," smirked Ron, tempted to use the Dungbombs against Draco.

When Draco and his two followers left the dormitory, Theodore shifted from his covers. "You two should really shut your mouths," he said as he sat up, revealing his messy hair.

"He started it," shrugged Ron. He expected time would pass by slowly but considering he had been spending time with his siblings for almost the whole day, it was already dinnertime. The four House table were replaced with one huge round table that could fit everyone who were there.

He sat as far away from Draco as possible (he could tell the feeling was mutual from the blonde boy himself) and sat between Ginny and Fred. The food served was delicious that Ron had three helpings, and the professors were rather entertaining, swapping presents and seeing some of them drunk. He was beginning to feel rather sleepy so he began walking back to the Slytherin dungeons when he saw something he thought he was seeing things: there were two chocolate cupcakes floating innocently in the middle of the hallway.

Ron stared at it (and his stomach rumbled slightly) but then he heard footsteps echoing from one side. "Go here," came Theodore's voice, waking the redhead up. He moved away and glanced around where he saw Theodore standing behind a suit of armour not far from the hallway.

"Nott –" he called while walking toward the weedy boy.

"Keep quiet, it's starting," said Theodore abruptly. "You shouldn't have eaten too many, honestly –"

"Shut it," he huffed before quieting himself. He saw both Crabbe and Goyle appearing from one corner, stuffing their mouths with trifle before stopping to look at the cupcakes. As expected, Crabbe and Goyle grabbed the floating cupcakes and ate it greedily. "Now what -?"

They saw the two huge boys fall on the floor, not moving an inch. "I believe a Sleeping Draught was added to the cupcakes," mused Theodore as he watched the scene unfold.

"And here they come," added Ron. From where they stood, they saw Harry and Neville appearing from the other corner and began dragging the now two unconscious Slytherins with difficulty. "Where do you think they'll hide the two?"

"Broom closet," was all Theodore responded. "Let's go – we won't be able to see much now." As they walked discreetly, they continued to discuss about what they saw. "It may take them awhile before they arrive to the dungeons – we'll just have to wait inside until they arrived –"

"But how will they be able to get in?" interrupted Ron. "They don't know how to go there in the first place! Maybe one of us should –"

"No," shot down the weedy boy. "That'll make it more obvious, especially you. You despise Crabbe and Goyle as much as Malfoy." They took a sharp turn on the left which led down to the dungeons. "Someone else will guide them and it won't be either the two of us. You know who that person is." Entering inside the common room, Theodore stopped and faced the redhead. "I'll just stay down here while you settle inside the dormitory for a bit, it's better that way." he said bluntly.

Ron rolled his eyes. "No need to tell me." He didn't say anymore and went inside the dormitory. He crawled over to his bed, pulled the green curtains to cover him from sight and waited.

Minutes passed and he was on the brink of dozing off when he heard Draco's muffled voice outside the dormitory. He sat up straighter and went still, hoping the Malfoy heir wouldn't go inside the dormitory. After a few moments, he let out a relieved sigh. "He's not going up. Good," muttered Ron, pushing the curtain away and slipping out cautiously. He leaned against the door and strained his ears to listen.

"- a bore here, staying at this dump," drawled out Draco, sounding annoyed.

"Er – then why did you decide stay here?" came a different voice Ron knew too well neither Crabbe nor Goyle owned.

"Didn't I already tell you Goyle a number of times? Your mind must be going backward," sneered Draco. "Father didn't want me to stay home because of that degrading Muggle Protection Act Weasel's father had passed," he ended with venom.

Ron couldn't contain his smirk. "Serves you right," he said under his breath and leaned over to hear more.

"Anyway, that Act isn't supposed to be worthy enough to get passed. I don't know what the Wizengamot were thinking," droned Draco. "I'm sure father will do something about it. He always has connections – and besides, those filthy Muggles don't deserve to get protected. They should be eliminated as much as possible. The world has enough filth like blood-traitors and Mudbloods roaming around."

The words caused Ron's blood to boil immediately. "Why that –" he growled, gripping the handle tightly, wanting to burst out from the door and throttle him on spot. He then heard a bit of heavy movement going on but he wasn't sure.

"What's wrong with you Crabbe?" questioned Draco testily.

"N-nothing, just hungry," Neville's low voice responded with a grunt.

"You've already eaten more than enough," scowled Draco. "Honestly, you're turning into that filthy Weasel who has to eat like there's no other day left for him. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he and his whole family don't eat for more than one day.'

"Now, now Draco, no need to insult him further," said Theodore in a drawl.

But Draco didn't stop.

"And speaking of Mudbloods, it's a shame none of them didn't end up dead on spot. In fact, I'm surprised that the Daily Prophet hasn't reported all the attacks that happened since Halloween. I suppose the old codger's trying to hush it up because if the attacks were published, then he'd be sacked in a less than a day. Father's always said Dumbledore's the worst thing that graced to this school. He loves Mudbloods so much filths like Creevey got in." Then he began mimicking the Muggle-born's voice mockingly. "What's the matter with you two?" he questioned suddenly and Ron could tell the blonde boy was giving hoax Crabbe and Goyle strange looks.

Moments after the question were responded with laughs Ron could tell were forced. "Seems to me that they have stomach-aches more than hunger," mused Theodore.

"You may have a point there, Theo," agreed Draco slowly. "Anyway, it's ridiculous that many truly believed that Potter is the Heir of Slytherin. I can't believe people are that thick. Potter couldn't hurt a fly, much less a Mudblood since he's friends with one."

Ron unconsciously sucked his breath. He had a feeling it was coming, whatever it was he felt was important.

"I wish I knew who it is," said Malfoy finally. "I could help them."

Harry's voice copying Goyle asked after a few seconds, "**You must have some idea who's behind it all…**"

"**You know I haven't, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you?**" snapped Malfoy, sounding thoroughly irritated. "**And Father won't tell me anything about the last time the Chamber was opened either. Of course, it was fifty years ago, so it was before his time, but he knows all about it, and he says that it was all kept quiet and it'll look suspicious if I know too much about it. But I know one thing — last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So I bet it's a matter of time before one of them's killed this time… I hope it's Granger**,' he said with relish.

"For someone who's only twelve like me, you're already wishing someone to be dead. You're deluded," said Ron rigidly as he opened the door forcefully and giving him the deadliest glare he could muster. He couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't going to let everything slide.

Draco curled his lips and sneered at him. Standing close to him were Harry and Neville disguised as Goyle and Crabbe respectively. Theodore sat leisurely on a high chair close to the fireplace with a book in his hand, looking bored as ever. "Been eavesdropping, are you Weasel?" he crooned. He didn't notice the other two were supposed to react. "Don't you have anything else to do? You're pathetic."

"Your voice is loud enough to pierce through any wall." hurled Ron's insults, walking down slowly and still glaring at him. "I couldn't sleep any longer and that's why I had to interrupt your stupid speech. By the way, you should get your skinny arse off to St. Mungo's – your mind is clearly not working well. But then again, they wouldn't accept you since they wouldn't want to deal with a lunatic like you to begin with."

"Blood-traitors like you are already a problem in the wizarding world, including those Mudbloods and barbaric Muggles – you should all be dead –" Draco wasn't able to continue when Ron's fist collided hard against his face.

"Typical," said Theodore, putting down his book and standing up. He glanced over the two fake Slytherins who were sneaking out of the dungeons. "Come on, stop it you two," he said while approaching them.

* * *

><p>"You shouldn't have stopped me," said Ron grumpily at Theodore but winced at the pain he felt.<p>

Theodore rolled his eyes. "Yes, and I'll just let two of my dorm mates fight like barbarians." he said sarcastically. They were currently at the Hospital Wing and Draco was out of sight (he left the place as soon as his bruises disappeared). Theodore decided to stay a bit to discuss with Ron about what happened earlier. It was him that the fight stopped, using a full Body-Bind curse on the two before calling Snape to report them. When the Slytherin head arrived, he undid the curse, gave detentions to the two and awarded Theodore twenty points for stopping the fight and approaching him accordingly.

"It's worth the detentions I've earned," scowled the redhead. "I got another week of detention but Malfoy has one night. It's favouritism, I tell you –"

"And why didn't you tell him about what Draco said?" he asked curiously.

"It might give us more problems," said Ron grudgingly. "So have you realized why Potter and Longbottom wanted to enter the dungeons?" he asked suddenly.

"They were trying to get information about the Chamber of Secrets," answered Theodore shortly. "Actually, I thought that they assumed Malfoy to be the heir but that's rather stupid of them to think, is it?" The two stared at each other before saying, "But then again, they are Gryffindors."

"Honestly, whoever the Heir is, he or she must be –" Ron stopped when the doors creaked open. He and Theodore jerked their heads and saw Harry, Neville and another person whose head had been covered with a school robe entering inside the Hospital Wing.

Both Harry and Neville stopped and stared at them. "Er –" began Harry, looking tensed and darting his gaze from him to the covered person who was now fidgeting.

"Right," said Theodore slowly. "Don't get more detentions, Weasley. I'm no babysitter to you, Draco or anyone." With that, he turned around and left the room.

Before Ron could say anything, Madam Pomfrey appeared on his right side, holding her wand and did some diagnostic spells on him. "There doesn't seem to be any more bruises," she said briskly. "Don't get into more fights, Mr. Weasley. You're becoming a resident here." she told him disapprovingly.

"Can't make any promises there," said Ron with a shrug before standing up. He walked out of the door but before closing it, he took a quick glance over the three and his eyes opened in shock. Underneath the school robes was a long furry tail moving slightly. He glanced up and finally saw who the person being covered and his mouth fell open. "I can't believe it," said Ron, turning away and walking. Then he snickered and laughed hysterically at the image he just saw.

* * *

><p>For the next few weeks, it seemed that nothing happened. The students returned from their homes and families and the feeling of apprehension and fear returned. Rumours began floating around when some of the students noticed that Hermione Granger wasn't present that it gave them thoughts that she was also attacked during the holidays, but Ron knew better and fought hard not to spill the beans (it was quite funny, thought Ron as he remembered the scene).<p>

Things were turning out good but then someone had to ruin it. On the fourteenth of February, popularly known as Valentine's Day, something happened. The moment Ron entered inside the Great Hall, he thought he could just die on spot.

The walls inside were covered in huge pink flower and from the ceiling, pink heart-shaped confetti were falling down as if it were snow. Ron never felt so disgusted. He looked around and saw the similar looks of horror planted on the rest of the male students inside the hall. The girls, however, were giggling excitedly and talking amongst each other. Ron shook his head. "I'll never understand girls," he muttered as he went over to the Slytherin table.

"I can't believe the headmaster let that ponce do this," said one fifth year Slytherin to his friend.

"We all know the headmaster is mad," muttered the friend.

Ron brushed away the confetti on his seat and hair, and pulled a plate. "This is ridiculous," he scowled. He had a hard time eating his breakfast because of the confetti landing on his food and things were getting worse as the day went by. Other than the decoration, Lockhart had hired dwarves wearing clothes similar to cupid as 'messengers of love' as Lockhart liked to put it. They would barge inside the classroom during class, interrupting the whole lesson just to deliver cards, flowers, and other assortments to a number of students.

Ron thanked his lucky stars none of the little buggers had approached him. Unfortunately, Harry Potter wasn't as lucky as he was. After lunch, one of the dwarves yelled out Harry's name, holding out a card and a harp. Ron stayed back and watched the scene unfold as the dwarf managed to catch up with Harry and keeping him in place. A small group of first years which turned out to be Gryffindors (Ron saw his sister Ginny with them) passing by stopped for a moment and watched curiously, adding up to the audience.

"**Right**," said the dwarf, sitting on Harry's ankles (Ron could see Harry's face turning red). "**Here is your singing valentine:**

**His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,**

**His hair is as dark as a blackboard,**

**I wish he was mine,**

**he's really divine,**

**The hero who conquered the Dark Lord.**

Everyone who had just heard the singing valentine stared at Harry before chuckling and snorting. Ron couldn't help but chuckle. But something caught his attention and his mind stopped. "Isn't that -?" he said to himself, staring at a familiar object that was lying down on floor, along with the shattered ink pots, parchments and quills spilt with black ink.

Adding to the misfortune was Draco Malfoy, who also watched the scene, marched over and picked up the diary with a malicious glint in his eye. "**Wonder what Potter's written in this?**" said Malfoy loudly to get the other student's attention.

Ron saw Ginny staring at her diary to Harry, looking quite terrified. Then it dawned to him. _That's Ginny's diary! _"Oi! Give that here!" he shouted as he tried to cut his way through the crowd. At the same time, his older brother Percy interfered, telling Draco to give the diary back.

"**When I've had a look,**" said Draco tauntingly, waving the diary at Harry with a sneer on his face.

In less than a few seconds, Harry whipped up his wand and shouted "_Expelliarmus!_" at Draco's direction. The spell hit Draco's hand, causing him to let go of the book that was now in the air.

Ron raised his hand to catch it but with Harry's seeking skills, he caught it first. "**Harry!**"said Percy loudly, giving disapproving looks between him and Draco."**No magic in the corridors. I'll have to report this, you know****!**"

As the crowd dispersed, Ron glanced from Ginny to Harry who was now running away as fast as he could with Neville in tow. Ron could still see Ginny's frightened look. "I'll have to get that diary back to her," said Ron, forcing himself to steer away and make his way to the Charms classroom.

Although he wanted to approach the Boy-Who-Lived and demand him to return the diary back to Ginny, he couldn't; during that day, the Slytherins had no class with the Gryffindors and it was getting on Ron's nerves. "Don't talk to me, I'm busy," he snapped at Tracey who was about to say something. He didn't see the look on her face and paced quickly toward the Great Hall, hoping to see Harry. His bad luck increased when he couldn't find him. "What's gotten your knickers in a twist?" questioned Theodore during that evening.

"Potter," growled Ron, punching his pillow furiously. "He got my sister's diary."

"Does he?" asked Theodore with one eyebrow raised. "Why would he have your sister's diary?"

Ron let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know! But that's not the point here, is it? He has it! And my sister's terrified!" he stood up from his bed and said, "I have to get it back."

"And how on earth are you going to do _that?_" drawled Theodore, watching him.

"I'll tell my brothers," he said firmly. "If they won't help, then I'll go to Potter myself."

"You're going to get yourself in trouble," he pointed out. "Not that I care, but you're giving Snape more problems."

Ron ignored him. He wasn't going to give up that easily. Three days after, he finally approached one of his brothers, Fred, and told him all about it. "Are you really sure about that?" asked Fred sceptically, frowning slightly at his younger brother.

"And why would I lie about something like this?" said Ron sarcastically. "Look, Potter has Gin's diary – when was the last time you checked on Gin? She looks bloody pale!"

"Alright, alright, keep your hairnet on," said Fred hastily. "I'll check on it – really, I promise – and if Harry does have Gin's diary, I'll take it from him. Will that make you feel better?" Seeing Ron's short nod, he continued, "Good. I'll have to go now – see you later, Ron." He turned his back on him and walked off, re-joining Lee Jordan and George who just appeared from one corner.

* * *

><p>He was hopeful that Ginny would get better by having the diary back. Days went by and Fred nor George (Ron assumed Fred would tell his twin about what he said) had spoken to him until it turned into weeks. He wasn't able to approach any of his siblings due to the amount of homework he had and even if he had time, it seemed that they were busy with their own business that he couldn't see them at all. Before Ron realized, it was already around the last week of March. The snow was already gone and smell of fresh grass filtered the air signalling everyone that spring had come. It had been four months since anyone inside Hogwarts had been petrified and a lot of students believed the attacker had either stopped or been apprehended.<p>

"Are you feeling okay?" asked Ron in concern to Ginny one day. He finally found time to talk with her and as usual, they met at the school grounds near the lake.

"I'm fine," said Ginny tersely, her eyes darting from one place to another. The more he stared at her, the more things he noticed from the dark circles under her eyes to her shaking hands.

"Really Gin, you can tell me what's –" he continued but the outburst made by his sister stopped him.

"No, you don't understand," she said in a distinct whisper.

But Ron wasn't going to give up. "Maybe I don't, but if you tell me then I –"

"No!" said Ginny, her voice rising. "Don't!" She stood up from the ground and started pacing left and right while twisting her hands nervously.

"What's happening to you?" questioned Ron in worry, standing up as well. "You're not like this –"

"And what do you know about me? You and the others never bothered to ask me how I'm feeling, never let play with you and the others, always thinking I'm just going to pull all of you back –" shouted Ginny and tears began to fall from her eyes. "No Ron, you and the rest don't care at all!" She spun around and ran back inside the castle, her red head swinging wildly with the wind.

Ron was left standing alone in the grounds, shocked and worried for his sister than ever. He was about to ask her if she finally got her diary back but with her sister acting like this, he wasn't able to. He hoped he would be able to talk to her again but it seemed that she was avoiding him. Just like her, it seemed that an invisible barrier emerged around Harry and his friends and whenever Ron tried to talk to him, he would be gone the second after each class he had with them.

Other than worrying over his sister, he had other things to mull over. He was given a note by Snape along with his other dorm mates about the subjects he would be taking for the following school year. He wasn't really sure what to take; for him, it would be a good chance to avoid Draco and his cronies on certain subjects. Most of the second years from all four Houses were discussing about the subjects they were planning on taking.

"I'll take the subjects where I don't have to see and deal with Malfoy," said Ron promptly. "That's all I want."

Theodore scoffed. "Then don't take Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy."

Ron gave him a look. "Are those the subjects he's going to take next school year? Right, that helps things." He stared at the remaining subjects: Ancient Runes, Divination, and Muggle Studies. After a moment or two, he still wasn't able to decide. "Nott, what are you planning to take?" he questioned him.

"Ancient Runes and Arithmancy," the weedy boy answered. "You're thinking too much."

"Well yeah. How about Goyle and Crabbe? What are they taking?"

"What Draco's taking obviously," said Theodore as if it was the most obvious thing right now.

Ron snorted. "Sad. I don't think they'll understand Arithmancy with brains like theirs –"

"And what electives are you planning on taking, Ronald?" the voice of Daphne asked him quite unexpectedly. She stood behind Ron with her left hand placed on her waist and another holding the note Snape had given her. She was giving them an inquisitive look, most particularly at Ron who was right now feeling unnerved. "Well?" Beside her was Tracey who simply turned around and left while scowling and dragging Millicent with her. Judging by the way she acted, it seemed that she hadn't forgiven Ron for his sudden rudeness toward her the other day.

"And why do you want to know what I'll be taking, Greengrass?" said Ron roughly. "And don't call me Ronald." he added.

Daphne gave him a hard look and Ron fell silent for some reason. "You shouldn't be too picky," she said, ignoring what he said. "It's best if you choose what you want to take, what others you don't like are taking. Isn't that easier? In case you're wondering, I'm planning on taking Muggle Studies and Arithmancy."

Ron stared at her in disbelief. "Muggle Studies? You? What made you decide on taking that? You're a Slytherin!"

"Just because I'm a Slytherin doesn't mean I'm not allowed to take Muggle Studies," huffed Daphne. "It's important for me to learn the Muggle world – my family is planning on expanding our business there."

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "So it wasn't just a rumour?"

"Of course not, Theodore," said Daphne, flipping her hair and taking a seat beside Ron who moved away immediately. "We know there's a lot of opportunities in the Muggle world – why not take it? And don't give me that look Ronald. I'm not as prejudiced to Muggles as you think I would be."

"But you think you're better than they are," insisted Ron.

"Yes, that's true," confirmed Daphne without batting an eye. "We of wizarding heritage are superior to non-magic folk –"

"That's a load of Doxy dung," interrupted Ron with a glare. "But thanks for your advice, though." he added, causing both Daphne and Theodore to stare at him in mild surprise. "What? I do know how to thank others."' he rolled his eyes. In the end, he chose Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes as his additional subjects for the next school year. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was curious and fascinated with the Muggle world and he only took Ancient Runes because of the stories his older brother Bill had been telling him whenever he came back from Egypt interested him.

* * *

><p>As the term was nearing its end for the school year, things were getting worse than Ron could ever imagine. On the day of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch game, shortly before the game would begin, McGonagall strode out of the field holding a purple microphone announced that the match was cancelled. An uproar rose from the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, and some from the Ravenclaws and whispers from the Slytherins.<p>

"What's happening now?" asked Ron in confusion as he and the other Slytherins were being ushered to go to back to the dungeons.

When all of the Slytherins were inside the common room, Snape entered and everyone fell silent. "There has been another attack," said Snape to them, his voice barely loud but audible for everyone to hear. "Two students from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are petrified and are now in the Hospital Wing. It is the order from the Headmaster that all students are to return to the common rooms by six in the evening and no one should go out after the time. All students will be escorted to each lesson by a professor as well as to use the bathroom. All further Quidditch training and matches, as well as other day and evening activities are to be postponed."

No one spoke, expecting to hear more. "There is a possibility that the school will be closed –" some of the first years gasped, "- unless the culprit has been caught. You will be updated until further notice. Good evening." He directed the prefects and told them what they were supposed to do. When he left, everyone began talking.

"They can't do that - Hogwarts closing just because –"

"I can't believe it will end up like this –"

"I don't want to be home-schooled. It's bad enough to be cooped up –"

"This wouldn't have happened if the Mudbloods weren't permitted to study magic in the first place –"

Most of the Slytherins nodded in agreement that such a thing wouldn't have happened if the Muggleborns weren't accepted in the first place. Some of the students such as Draco were very vocal about it. "I've always said that having Dumbledore as headmaster was the worst thing that ever happened to Hogwarts. He's quite useless –" he drawled with his friends.

"Yes, and I'm sure you or your father can do so much better than he does," said Ron sarcastically before going up to the dormitory. For the next following days, he and the rest of the Slytherins were escorted by each and every professor after each lesson. He couldn't walk alone in the hallways without being caught and reprimanded by any of the staff and would be escorted back to the common room. He was getting irritated by the minute. Then one day, he and the others heard that Dumbledore was suspended by the school governors because of what was happening, causing for the security to be tighter.

"This is stupid," he hissed. "It's not like all of us are in danger. The purebloods won't get hurt if the victims are Muggleborns or Half-bloods." He was in the common room, doing his homework with the others (which he didn't like one bit) during break time.

"And how sure are you that us pureblood won't get attacked by the Heir?" asked one first year who heard his muttering.

Ron gave him a look. "Isn't it obvious none of us have been attacked –" he argued but stopped when he saw Snape entering inside the common room.

The students who were in the common room stopped what they were doing and watched at their House head. "All classes have been cancelled," he said to them. "You will be escorted back to Hogsmeade station tomorrow morning and none of you will leave here until tomorrow. Is that to be understood?" When the students nodded in assent, he turned to Ron. "Mr. Weasley, a word with you." he beckoned him and without waiting for him, he swept back out of the dungeons.

"What did you do this time, Weasley?" asked one of the Slytherins.

Ron didn't bother replying and followed the Potions master out of the common room. As he stepped out, he found him standing few feet away and approached him tentatively. "Sir?" he called, feeling his insides squirming unpleasantly.

"One of the students was taken hostage by the Heir." said Snape quietly.

Ron nodded but he didn't understand why he was telling him privately. But his heart was hammering hard against his chest and a horrible thought began to form in his mind. "Who – who was taken hostage?" he croaked.

Snape didn't answer immediately. After a moment, he said, "It seems that your sister –"

"No," said Ron hoarsely. "It can't be her!" He couldn't believe what was happening right now."

"Mr. Weasley –"

"She's a pureblood! Why would the Heir take her? It doesn't make any sense!" he shouted. Then he remembered the vision he had from her and his blood ran cold.

"The authorities will take care of it," said Snape, but Ron knew he was only saying it to calm him down. "We will inform you with more details at once." He escorted the redhead back inside the common room and before he left him, he told him not to go out. "I don't want you to do anything reckless, do I make myself clear?" he said firmly. Without hearing him respond, he left him inside the common room.

Ron was speechless. He slid down on the floor and felt his body shaking uncontrollably.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Second year is almost done! Just two more chapters!<strong>_

_**You know, I've always wondered how big the student population at Hogwarts was. Well, even until now. Because honestly, if the maximum number of students per each year would be ten, then multiplying it to seven per House then mutliplying it to four for the total population, we'll get around 280 students. That's not much, is it? Especially if the school is at a huge ancient castle. But I guess if Voldemort didn't exist in the first place, then the student population would've doubled or tripled.**_

_**But I always thought that anyone could get away from someone they don't like in a huge castle and it'll be harder since they don't have the same schedule and don't belong to the same House. I guess in some way, it makes sense. Oh well.**_


	13. Chapter 12

The sun was setting, casting a reddish-orange glow over the sky. The Slytherin common room was nearly empty and Ron sat on one of the high chairs, staring blankly at the crackling fire. He couldn't believe what he had heard just earlier. His sister Ginny was taken hostage by the Heir of Slytherin and it didn't seem to make any sense at all. He was scared and ill thoughts of her dead greatly terrified him. But a thought occurred to him, and it was the vision he had during the summer before the school year began.

He knew Ginny fought hard and struggled not to be taken away and it gave him a small glimmer of hope that she could be alive. Ron stood up. He couldn't rely on anyone to help save her. He had to do it himself even if it cost him his life.

Ron began walking away until someone called him. "Where are you going, Weasley?" questioned Theodore, stepping down from the stairs of the second year boys dormitory.

"Never you mind," he said tersely and stepped forward to the entrance but the other boy held him in place by the shoulder. "Let me go –"

"None of us are supposed to leave," said Theodore. "You're going to get us in trouble -"

"I don't care," snarled Ron, pushing Theodore away. "You have no idea – I have to go – my sister needs me -"

"You can do that tomorrow when we're at the train -"

Anger rose inside Ron. He grabbed Theodore's collar forcefully and hissed, "My sister's in danger – she's taken hostage by the Heir -" Theodore's eyes widened for a second, "- and I can't stay here and wait whether she's alive or – or – no, I can't do that. I have to do something."

Theodore made Ron let go of him and said after a moment, "What can you do? You're not capable of saving her and you know that perfectly well."

"Thanks for pointing that out but I don't care," he said through gritted teeth. "I know that talking to you right now is waste and every second counts – I just foreseen her being taken away by some dark magic and I know she tried her best to resist it. I have to save her – I -"

"What are you two doing down there?" another voice spoke from above.

Both Ron and Theodore jerked their heads and saw Daphne peering down at them from the girl's dormitory. "Daphne, you go back inside, there's nothing going on here -" said Theodore monotonously to her.

"Doubtful," she said coolly as she walked down the stairs. "If you two are -"

"How much have you heard?" demanded Ron, glaring at her. His heart was hammering hard; he couldn't believe he didn't see her standing a few feet away from him and Theodore and thought of her knowing his secret alarmed him.

"Excuse me but you're -" began Daphne but Ron cut across her.

"Just answer my question," he snapped.

Daphne threw a glare at him but said, "I only about you saying that you need to save your sister because you saw her being taken away by someone which doesn't make any sense honestly – oh Merlin, don't tell me you're -"

"I suggest you keep your mouth shut Greengrass," growled Ron, glaring hard before turning to Theodore. "You better make sure she won't say a word about this. I have to go now."

"And where do you think you're going?" drawled Theodore as he took out his wand. "You can't go anywhere."

"Try me," snarled Ron, taking out his wand from his robes.

Daphne glanced between the two and stepped in. "Don't go hexing each other." She said, her eyes darting from Ron to Theodore. "I think you should let Ronald leave, Theodore." This comment surprised both boys but Daphne didn't seem to notice their reaction and continued, "It's his decision and if someone asks, we can say that we tried to stop him." She faced Ron and added, "You should go now while you still can. But," she paused, giving Ron a calculating look, "If you didn't return after an hour, I will call Snape."

Ron didn't bother thanking her and turned around to leave.

"- you have to tell me what you're hiding!"

The redhead left the Slytherin dungeons and ran as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was supposed to go but he had a feeling that someone of something would lead him to it. As he reached to the second floor, he stumbled against with a hard object and fell back. "Bloody hell, what was -?" he stopped and saw Harry and Neville in front of him.

"Weasley -" said Harry as his hands scrambled to hide some ancient-looking robe behind him.

"Where are you two going?" questioned Ron, watching the two Gryffindors.

"We could ask the same to you, but I'm guessing you're out here because of your sister -" said the raven-haired Gryffindor to him while standing up with Neville.

"Wait," said the redhead, realization dawning to him. "You know where she is, do you?"

"We have an idea," nodded Neville. "But we have to go to a professor for help -"

"Then let's go!" said Ron hurriedly.

"Let's go this way," said Harry, gesturing to the other direction.

"Why there? The teachers' staff room is on the other side!" argued Ron.

"The other professors are giving full reign to Lockhart -" explained Neville but Ron let out a humourless laugh.

"Are you pulling my leg? Lockhart? Are you both mental?! He couldn't even defend himself! Let's go to Snape – he's better -" snarled Ron.

Harry glared at him. "I wouldn't go to Snape in a million years. It's either we go to Lockhart or we leave you here." He said to him with conviction.

Ron glared at him. "Fine, but if he messes up, it'll be on you two. Come on, we're wasting time as it is."

The three students ran all the way to the Defense classroom and when they arrived, they saw the door to the office of Lockhart open with sounds of flurry movement coming from inside. They went inside and they were surprised that it was nearly empty. All of the self-portraits were placed in one of the trunks and the wardrobe was empty with the robes dumped in the other trunk that was currently open. Lockhart running around frantically, trying to fit all of his belongings in the last trunk he had.

"What's going on here?" blurted out Harry, staring at Lockhart.

"A-ah…Potter, Longbottom, Weasley," squeaked Lockhart, shocked to see the three students inside. "I'm rather busy right now – you can talk to me tomorrow -"

"Stop lying to us," snarled Ron as anger rose inside him again. "You're planning on leaving, aren't you?"

Both Harry and Neville were thinking along the same lines and were now glaring at their Defense professor. "You can't just leave! Someone's taken hostage by the Heir!" shouted Harry.

"When I first applied for the post -" rambled Lockhart. "Honestly – not in the job description -"

"You're our Defense professor, you nitwit!" growled Ron. "You're supposed to put your knowledge and experience in times like this! My sister's in danger! You can't possibly let her die!"

"You all wrote those books!" cried Neville, shocked by the sudden change of events.

"Books can be misleading, Longbottom -" said Lockhart delicately.

"You mean to say that that didn't happen?!" yelled Harry.

"My boy," Lockhart shook his head. "You don't understand. Of course it happened, but it's just that I didn't do all of that. Someone else did. But that doesn't mean what I didn't do any effort. I did a lot of it. I tracked those people down and I questioned them about their accomplishments in every single detail."

"But that -" began Ron.

"If there's one thing I'm good at, it's my Memory Charms," continued the wizard as if he hadn't heard of Ron interrupting. "After I got the information I needed, I removed their memories of what they did. It's that easy. You see here, if you want fame, you have to go through the cold, hard slog." He turned around and picked up his wand from his trunk and faced them. "Now that I told you my secret, I have to erase your memories -"

"Like that will ever happen," snarled Ron as he, Harry and Neville raised their wands. "_Expelliarmus!_"

Three spells shot straight to Lockhart's hand, knocking the wand out from his grip hard. The wand was caught by a fumbling Neville but Ron grabbed it from him and broke it in half, much to Lockhart's shock.

"What is it do you want me to do?" pleaded Lockhart. "I don't even know where the Chamber is!"

Harry forced the older wizard to his knees at wandpoint and said, "You're in luck. We know where it is. Let's go."

All four of them left the office with Lockhart walking first so that the other three could watch his movements and went to where the writing on the wall was located. Then Harry gestured them to go in the girl's lavatory nearby, earning a questioning look from Ron and Lockhart. As they entered, Ron noticed how grimy and gloomy it was. "Why are -?" he began to ask but he saw a young-looking female ghost sitting on top of toilet, staring at them. It was then Ron realized that the ghost was Moaning Myrtle.

"What is it do you want this time?" asked the gloomy ghost, her gaze boring on Harry and Neville.

"I want to know how you died," said Harry softly.

Ron was about to say something when Neville nudged him with his elbow to keep quiet. "Ohh it as dreadful," said Myrtle, looking pleased. When she was done telling her death, Harry asked what killed her. "I don't know," she answered simply. "But all I remembered was that I saw a pair of huge yellow eyes over there and I died."

"That was rather helpful," snorted Ron before shooting a look at Lockhart. "Where do you think you're going?"

"N-nowhere," mumbled Lockhart, looking as if he tried to shrink himself.

Harry began searching the sinks until he said, "I found it!" The others closed in, checking to see what Harry saw. And there it was, it was a engraved snake at the side of the faucet.

"How do we open the entrance?" asked Ron quickly. His hope to save Ginny increased and he didn't want to waste more time.

"I think you have to speak Parseltongue, Harry," said Neville, glancing at Harry.

Harry nodded and said, "Open."

Both Ron and Neville shook their heads. "English." Pointed out Ron.

Harry stared deeply at the engraved snake and after a moment, he let out a hiss. Then they heard movements coming from below and suddenly, the two sinks in front began to move downward, revealing a huge gaping hole in the middle that was more than enough space to fit an adult.

"Well then," spoke Lockhart, breaking the silence. "I don't think you don't need me anymore -"

The three boys pointed their wands at him again. "You're not going anywhere." said Harry, glaring at him and gesturing him to come forward.

"What's the point of me being here? What can I do?" cried Lockhart as he walked slowly to their direction.

"Easy," snarled Ron. "Go down first!" He kicked Lockhart behind as hard as he could in the hole and watched the adult wizard drop down while screaming at the top of his lungs. "What are we waiting for? Let's hop in!" he didn't wait for the two Gryffindors to go in and jumped into the hole. He zoomed left, right, twisting and turning and he was about to get dizzy when he reached the end. He almost stumbled on the cold, wet floor with small white objects that turned out to be bones of small animals such as rats. "How nice," he said in disgust, wiping his hands with his already dirty robes.

Moments later, both Harry and Neville arrived from the pipe. "We must be miles under the school." said Neville in awe as he looked around.

"More likely under the Black lake," muttered Harry, glancing toward the leaking ceiling.

As the four of them walked with Lockhart walking in front yet again, Harry said seriously, "If you see any movement, close your eyes immediately -"

"Why?" questioned Ron, frowning at him.

"Because the monster we're dealing with is a Basilisk," answered Harry. "Looking into its gaze can kill you in a second -" Lockhart whimpered out loud to which the others ignored, "- but if you didn't look at it directly, you'll end up petrified like the others at the Hospital Wing."

"A Basilisk?" repeated Ron, his eyes wide as saucers. "Blimey."

Both Harry and Neville nodded. As they turned to a corner, they saw something huge coiling object. They walked carefully and found out that what they saw an old scale skin of the mythical monster. "That thing must be around a hundred feet long," said Neville, peering closely at the skin.

Lockhart, who had been standing a bit behind, suddenly was on his knees, looking as if he was about to faint.

"Oi you, don't act like a coward -" barked Ron but the next thing he saw was that Lockhart jumped and made to grab Neville's wand with his hand outstretched. Neville was surprised by his action and wasn't able to step away but Ron moved almost exactly the same time. He lunged at Lockhart, knocking him over and now the two were on the ground, wrestling to get Neville's wand. A loud snap echoed across the underground cave and Ron yelled angrily at the blonde wizard. "You bloody git! You broke my wand!"

"That's – ow – quite – ow – enough – not the hair!" cried Lockhart as he tried to shield his face and hair from the angry redhead.

Both Harry and Neville glanced one another, unsure what to do. "Weasley -" said Harry.

"Just hex this prat and be over with!" came Ron's answer.

"_Expelliarmus!_" shouted Harry, pointing his wand at Lockhart. Red light shot out from his wand and went straight to Lockhart's right shoulder, knocking him against the wall. The whole area began to shake and Harry and Neville ducked away from the falling boulders from the ceiling.

When the thick layer of dust was gone, the path down was now blocked and Harry was nowhere in sight. "Harry? Where are you?" shouted Neville, scrambling to his feet and looking around.

"Here!" Harry's voice resounded from the other side.

"What's going to happen now? It'll take ages before the rocks get cleared out -" said Neville.

"Oh stop moving, will you?" snarled Ron at Lockhart who began to struggle for Neville's wand yet again. "Oi Potter! You better save my sister or I'll hex you until you don't show your face ever again!" he yelled at Harry who was at the other side. No one heard the Gryffindor reply but the sound of his footsteps echoing until it was gone gave him and Neville the idea that he left to the Chamber on his own.

But when Harry was gone, Lockhart managed to take Neville's wand and pushed Ron away from him. "I…had enough of this." panted Lockhart, staggering to his feet and pointing Neville's wand at the two boys. "I'm going to erase your memories get a bit of the monster's old skin and tell everyone that you two became insane when little Miss Weasley and Potter died – no one will know, yes…say goodbye to your memories. _Obliviate!_"

Ron closed his eyes, thinking it was the end. But another voice shouted nearby the same time Lockhart casted the spell. "_Protego!_" A loud thud occurred and Ron opened his eyes to see that the blonde wizard was on the ground, unconscious. He realized that another figure was within the area and looking to his right stood Snape with his wand outstretched, anger carved on his face.

"Professor -" spoke Ron, shocked to see him.

"I've told you not to leave the common room, Mr. Weasley," growled Snape as he walked toward them. "You should be thankful that Ms. Greengrass informed me what happened or your memories would've been wiped out completely. You will be serving a week of detention right after this." He glanced around to find something or someone. "Where's Potter?"

"He – he -" stammered Neville, his fear toward the Potions Master appearing.

"He went down to the Chamber," answered Ron on Neville's behalf. "sir."

Snape cursed under his breath. "That insolent boy," he said steely. "You two will stay here while I retrieve Potter -"

"How about my sister?" cried Ron as he stood up. "I need to save her -"

"There is nothing you can do." He brandished his wand again and said, "_Reducto!_" the boulders blocking the path suddenly turned into ash and Ron couldn't help but be awed.

_I ought to learn that spell,_ thought Ron before breaking from his reverie.

He saw that Snape began to move down the path and tried to follow him but Snape said sternly, "You are not capable of saving her," he said coldly to him. "You will only become a burden if you still try to pursue what you're thinking. It is best if you and Longbottom stay here while I take care of things. If I have to fully body-bind you, then I will." said Snape with a hard glare before turning away.

When he was out of sight, Ron let out a frustrated sigh. After everything that happened, he wasn't able to do anything to his sister. He was told that he wouldn't be able to do anything and he would only become a liability. He hated it. "Weasley -" said Neville, sensing that the redhead needed some comfort. A soft trill echoed from behind and both Ron and Neville looked up to see what it was. Flying over them was a shining red majestic bird and it was heading straight to where Snape went to. Ron didn't think twice. He began to follow the creature. "W-wait! Don't leave me!" said Neville, glancing at Lockhart's unmoving form before catching up.

Ron ran with the energy he had left until he saw Snape who seemed to be throwing one spell after another at something he couldn't see. Before he could even say anything, the Potions Master said angrily, "Didn't I tell you not to go here -?"

"But I can't!" said Ron determinedly. "I – I can't stay doing nothing!"

Snape didn't respond but kept firing spell. Ron looked to his right and saw a huge entrance with two large snakes circled around each other. "Blast it!" snarled Snape, throwing one more hex in fury. "It won't open!"

Ron and Neville, who finally caught up and breathing heavily, glanced at the entrance. "I think someone needs to speak Parseltongue to enter like earlier," said Neville before cringing under Snape's hard glare.

"There's no Parselmouth," growled Snape. "Stay back, you two." The two boys did obediently with Neville retreating few more steps away. As expected, the Potions Master began throwing stronger spells, shaking the surroundings with each spell hurled after another.

It wasn't beyond ten minutes of continuous spell casting but the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets creaked open by itself. Snape looked somewhat startled for a second but regained his stance, waiting to strike whoever or whatever would come out from it. A sound of footsteps were heard and two small figures stumbled out of the entrance whom the others took notice were Harry and to Ron's relief, Ginny. "You're safe!" cried Ron as he embraced his sister tightly.

"I'm sorry," said Ginny in a muffled voice, embracing him back.

He soon let go of her and turned to face Harry to thank him but he saw that the Boy-Who-Lived was busy being verbally assaulted by his House head. "- just as arrogant as your father! Bringing students to danger! You should've approached any of the staff -!"

"We did but we heard you and the others told Lockhart to do it -!" fired back Harry, not missing a single beat.

"Do you really think we'd depend on that idiotic blonde ponce to do this? You're clearly not using your brain well enough -"

A loud trill emerged from nowhere and the tirade between the two stopped abruptly to see who made the sound. Ron and the others looked around and saw a majestic bird flying over them. "Isn't that a phoenix?" spoke Neville after staring at the creature for a moment.

"That's Fawkes," said Harry to them. "He's Du – I mean Professor Dumbledore's." he amended quickly, thinking he might get scolded by Snape for rudeness.

Snape looked beyond the entrance, tempted to enter and see what he would see but said, "We're going back up. Children shouldn't be here in the first place," he said menacingly as he threw a sharp look toward Harry's direction as if it was his fault that this happened.

"W-will I get punished?" stammered Ginny with fearful eyes.

"…the Headmaster will decide," said the Potions Master slowly. "But that is not important right now." He led the way back but when they were almost reaching the pathway, they saw Lockhart sitting in one corner of the underground cave, humming to himself.

Lockhart snapped and looked at them with a cheery grin on his face. "Hello! I didn't know someone else is living here!"

Both Harry and Ginny stared at him oddly before turning to the others and waiting for them to answer. "I…think his memory's been wiped out," said Ron in a slightly strangled voice, trying to keep a straight face. "He – er – tried to erase our memories shortly before you went to down to the Chamber."

"Pathetic," snarled Snape. "You, stand up. Now." He barked at Lockhart who immediately stood up obediently. "All four of you take hold of each other's hands – Potter, grab onto Fawkes' tail – Longbottom, take hold of Lockhart – I will follow. Go."

At his word, Fawkes lifted all five with ease up until they finally arrived back inside Moaning Myrtle's lavatory. "Oh, you're still alive," said Myrtle gloomily, staring at Harry disappointedly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Ron, finding her comment irritating.

"Well, I thought if you died, I can share this place with you," responded Myrtle but her cheeks turned opaque. Both Ron and Neville looked shocked, Harry flushed deeply while Ginny had a mortified look on her small face.

"That's enough chitchat," said Snape suddenly, appearing behind the four students like a ghost. He led them again, this time to the Headmaster's office. Without missing a beat, he said tersely, "Fizzing Whizbee." The moving staircase appeared between the two stone gargoyles and all six of them stepped in with Lockhart looking the most excitement.

"Enter," the voice of Dumbledore resounded from inside.

The moment the door opened, Ron and his sister saw their parents inside. Mrs. Weasley had been crying while her husband was comforting her but when they both saw Ginny in the flesh, they left their seats and flung their arms around their youngest child. "Oh Ginny! You're alive! I can't believe this -!" cried Mrs. Weasley in happiness as she kissed Ginny's forehead tenderly. She glanced up and saw Ron, she said, "Ron! Why are you dirty -"

"Er – long story, Mum -" was all Ron could say before being engulfed by his mother's embrace as well.

"When I heard that Ginny was taken – I don't think I -" sobbed Mrs. Weasley, holding both of her children. "Thank Merlin you're safe, Ginny! But how -?"

"It – it was Potter," said Ron in response as he tried to let her go of him. "He managed to save Gin."

Both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley turned to face Harry who quivered slightly under their gaze. "How can we ever thank you, young man -" said Mr. Weasley gratefully to him.

"I-it's nothing," stammered Harry, looking quite embarrassed by them.

"Yes, Potter saves the day…however," growled Snape, causing for the boys to jump in mild surprise. "Both he and Longbottom have broken over a hundred rules within 24 hours and they must be punished -"

"Severus," said Dumbledore as he raised a hand, "I will attend to that -" both Harry and Neville's expression fell while Snape smirked, "- but I am sure all of us wanted to know what happened. If you will, Mr. Potter and Longbottom, please tell us. And yes, also you Mr. Weasley," he added, gesturing toward Ron who gulped.

The three boys glanced one another and Harry stepped forward, placing Ginny's Diary, the Sorting Hat (which surprised everyone except for Dumbledore) and surprisingly (Ron realized just now) a shiny magnificent sword on top of the Headmaster's desk, before telling everyone what happened. Both Ron and Neville said a couple with Ron merely telling that he left the common room because he wanted to save Ginny and he ran into Harry and Neville's direction and the part about Lockhart's attempt to erase his memories and Snape's timing. By the time they were done, the others stared at them in shock.

"What interests me the most," said Dumbledore gently, "is how Lord Voldemort -" everyone else except Harry shuddered at the mention, "- managed to enchant Ginny when my sources tell me that he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania."

Ron shook his head and stared at the Headmaster, wondering how on earth he managed to get that kind of information. And another thing came into mind, if everything he heard was true, then the Dark Wizard was still alive, but only in hiding. He couldn't help but shiver but he focused his attention back to Harry and his explanation which led to Ginny's diary which the bespectacled Gryffindor told that it was through the diary that You-Know-Who controlled Ginny.

"Brilliant," said Dumbledore more to himself as he peered closely to the diary. "Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen." He put down the book and watched everyone before speaking. "Very few people know that Lord Voldemort -" everyone flinched, "- was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself before I became Headmaster…no one heard of him after he graduated until he resurfaced. He was barely recognizable due to the numerous dark magical transformations he went through that no one could ever realize that it was him, Tom Riddle."

"But, Ginny," began Mrs. Weasley who finally found her voice again. "What's our Ginny got to do with – with – _him?_"

Then Ginny began to wept again, telling them that she wrote down the diary since summer and that You-Know-Who had been writing back to her all year long. Mr. Weasley was flabbergasted and admonished his daughter for not showing them the diary which Ron thought was bad timing.

"I believe Miss Weasley should go up to the Hospital Wing right away," interrupted Dumbledore firmly, casting a concerned look to the youngest Weasley child. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. Bed rest and a large, steaming mug of chocolate will do the trick. I always find that cheers me up. You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake – she's just giving out Mandrake juice to the petrified victims. I daresay the basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment."

"So Hermione's going to be fine!" cried Neville happily and Harry let out a sigh of relief.

"Well then," said Snape idly, sweeping a hard look toward Harry and Neville. "I'll leave you to deal with Potter and Longbottom, shall I?" at his words, both Gryffindor boys' spirits dampened and looked worried, glancing nervously at Dumbledore and Snape.

"Certainly," affirmed the Headmaster. "If you will Mr. Longbottom, will you please also escort Professor Lockhart to the Hospital Wing? I also believe you and Mr. Weasley need to be checked up as well."

"Am I a professor?" asked Lockhart in mild surprise. "Goodness. I expect I was hopeless, was I?"

The boys and Snape tried their hardest not to respond although Snape sneered at the clueless blonde wizard.

As the Weasleys, Neville and Snape left the office (the Potions Master didn't say a word and left the others with his back turned against them), Ron thought long and hard about what he had just learned. But the longer he thought, something along the lines didn't make sense. _How did Ginny get a hold of You-Know-Who's diary in the first place?_ He tried to trace back to the time when he and the rest of the family went to Diagon Alley to buy their school things and then – it was as if it hit Ron hard in the face.

"Why that -!" said Ron in a strangled tone.

"What is it, dear?" asked Mrs. Weasley to him.

Ron opened his mouth but he thought about what would happen if he told them. "N-nothing," he said steadily, looking away. He knew that if he told them, then his father wouldn't stop until he could send Lucius Malfoy to Azkaban but that wouldn't be possible. The Malfoys, as much as he didn't want to admit, had more connections and power leverage in the Ministry using dirty means. It was obvious that his father would have the shorter end of the stick so he decided to not say anything at all. _What matters right now is that Gin's safe_, thought Ron to himself as he and the others entered the Hospital Wing.

* * *

><p>All patched up and his clothes now cleaned from any sort of dirt, Ron left the Hospital Wing to return to the Slytherin dungeons to get away from Mrs. Weasley's coddling which he believed should be directed to Ginny who needed it more. The moment he stepped in, he saw both Theodore and Daphne sitting comfortably at the common room. They turned to him and Theodore said, "You're alive."<p>

"Really? I haven't noticed." said Ron sarcastically.

Daphne stood up and Ron backtracked for a bit. "Well? Aren't you supposed to say something to me?" she said expectantly, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Er – thanks…Greengrass. You know, for calling Snape." Said Ron reluctantly to her.

The blonde Slytherin girl gave a smile. "That's good. Although I would suggest if you make it sound like you mean it, Ronald."

Ron scowled deeply. "It's not like I'm going to say it repeatedly. And don't call me Ronald." he added irritably.

"And by the way, you have to tell me what you're hiding," she said sweetly, causing Ron to groan at her and Theodore looking mildly amused at his reaction.

* * *

><p><em><strong>This is so long but I managed to finish this.<strong>_

_**Just to let you know, I accidentally overwritten the original chapter so I really panicked. I did try looking for the copy in my PC but I couldn't so I had no choice but to rewrite it. You might notice a couple of changes but I really don't mind. It's either I redo the chapter or I put down the story. So I took the first option. Fortunately enough, I managed to finish it in less than a week.**_

_**Honestly speaking, I couldn't remember half of the conversation or words I used previously so I remade them and made it a bit more casual than formal.**_

_**My beta-reader and I are almost half-way through reediting the story. Thank goodness for that.**_


	14. Chapter 13

The end of the year was unexpected to say the least.

Examinations for all years were cancelled as a treat, the petrified victims were conscious once more (even the Gryffindor ghost), his wand (Charlie's old wand to be precise) broke into half by Lockhart who couldn't remember everything even his own self, his sister was saved from impending death by no other than Harry Potter, and Daphne Greengrass was the second person who knew of his secret.

It was overwhelming for Ron but he managed to cope with it. Right now, he and the rest of the students were enjoying an overnight feast. Everyone was in their pyjamas, enjoying the food and laughing with each other. The petrified victims were also at the feast, sitting with their friends and catching up what happened while they were petrified. He glanced around and saw Hermione with Harry and Neville, her mouth moving nonstop. It just occurred to him that the bushy-haired Gryffindor was one of the victims from the Basilisk and the thought of her almost dying made him oddly unnerved.

His thoughts of her vanished when he saw Ginny approaching him. "What is it, Gin?" he asked.

Ginny didn't say anything and simply hugged him. "Thanks Ron." she said to him quietly.

Ron blinked in surprise. "What for? I didn't do –"

"You may not be the one who saved me, but you're the only one who went out and try to save me anyway," she said firmly. "Even if I treated you badly, you still –"

"I'm your older brother,' said Ron seriously. "Of course I'm going to do anything for you."

Ginny gave him a weak smile. "Thanks." She hugged him once again and went back to the Gryffindor table with her fellow peers.

"That was quite sentimental," said Theodore boringly, suddenly sitting not so near on his left.

The redhead rolled his eyes. "Only you would say that. What do you want?" he asked suddenly, not looking directly at him.

"Greengrass," said Theodore simply and Ron groaned.

"She's not going to stop, is she?" he said grimly. Surprisingly, Ron sneaked away before she could get any information out from him right after Snape returned to the Slytherin dungeons and announced the feast and what happened earlier in vague details.

"Females are persistent," said the weedy boy with a shrug.

"And the fact that we're under the same House," said Ron gloomily, poking his potatoes with his fork. "I don't have much choice, do I?"

"No, I suppose you don't," said Theodore to him shortly.

Ron tilted his head to the left and saw Daphne talking urbanely to her fellow friends. She was smiling and he just realized their gazes met. She arched one of her eyebrows, looked at him meaningfully with the corner of her lips curled upward. One of his eyes twitched. _She's blackmailing me,_ he thought to himself. He glanced toward her direction again and saw her back facing him. _She's a Slytherin, al__l __right._

"What are you going to do now?" questioned Theodore in mild interest.

"I'll just have her sign the blood contract to be sure. Merlin knows females are talkative." muttered Ron to himself as he stood up from his seat. He didn't want this to happen but he hardly had any choice in the matter. He found himself in front of the Slytherin girls and he knew it was going to be difficult; as far as he noticed, girls always go in packs. "Er," he said, trying to get Daphne's attention.

Pansy was the first one to have noticed him and let out a shriek. "Why are you here, Weasley?" she questioned him in her high voice.

Ron ignored her. "I need to speak with you, Greengrass." he said gruffly, clenching his fist to control his nervousness. _Wait, why am I nervous? She's only one person._

The rest of the Slytherin girls giggled. "And what do you want from Daphne, hm?" asked Tracey this time. Ron could tell she wasn't as angry as she was before but he had a feeling she didn't consider him as one of her favourite or tolerated persons in her list.

He decided to ignore her as well. "Come on, Greengrass." he said impatiently.

Daphne looked at him appraisingly. "Is that how you ask others to talk to you?" she said coolly to him.

Ron closed his eyes shortly and opened them again, trying to calm himself down. "May I speak with you for a moment, _Daphne_?" he asked in forced politeness, keeping his voice even and his irritation at bay.

Daphne smiled at him. "Of course," she faced her friends and said, "I'll be back." She stood up gracefully and gave Ron a look. "Well? Lead the way."

He didn't bother saying anything else to her; he turned around and walked away from the Great Hall and all the way to the fourth floor. He didn't lower his pace, walking as quickly as he could and not letting the other Slytherin rest for a moment or keep up with him. He could hear her panting slightly and telling him to slow down but he didn't listen to her. "We're here," he said finally, stopping in front of the huge mirror.

Daphne panted as she stopped as well, clutching her chest. "You are not being considerate, Ronald,' she said, giving him an indignant look.

"Do I look like I care?" said Ron bluntly. "I'm not going to give any special treatment to anyone, especially not to you. Considering you're the one blackmailing me to tell you what I'm hiding –"

"Stop talking, you twit." snapped Daphne, surprising him.

Ron stared at her. "And where did you get that attitude?"

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Honestly, do you really think always I'm elegant and graceful?" crossing her arms, she continued, "And I thought you're smart." With that remark, Ron scowled at her. "Like everyone else who is rich, I'm raised to be spoiled and pampered."

"So you're actually like Pansy and the rest of the airheads in Slytherin?" sneered Ron.

"No, unlike Pansy, I have more tact." she said coolly. "She doesn't use her head that much. And besides, just because you don't like something doesn't mean you have to show it to everyone."

Ron couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You – you – I can't believe you would say that to your friend." he said incredulously.

"You think that she and I are friends? That's funny." smirked Daphne to him. "She uses me just as much as I use her. We're all Slytherins, Ronald. In Slytherin, there's no such thing as friendship, only alliances. It's best to be affiliated with the influential families in order to gain what you want. It's that simple."

"And why would you want to connect yourself to me? I'm just a poor pureblood." He questioned.

"Regardless of your lack of wealth," Ron twitched, "your family is still highly respected from the other pureblood families such as the Longbottoms, the Bones, and the Diggorys. I've told you about this earlier, Ronald and I'm not lying about it." reminded Daphne. "And besides, you have a gift others would die to have," she continued. "You should consider telling –"

"No," said Ron flatly. "No way in Merlin's saggy, wrinkly buttocks that I'm going to tell anyone about it."

Daphne sighed. "So you're saying no one, even your own family, except for Theodore, know about this? I guess that's a no." she said, noticing Ron's stony expression. "Well, I want in. You will have to tell me everything else. You already spilled some of the information, might as well tell the rest."

"And what would I get in return?" said Ron while raising an eyebrow.

Before she could respond, Theodore's voice spoke not far away from them. "I suggest you don't say anything while you're out in the open. You're bound to be heard from anyone, human or not."

"Nott, you're here." said Ron, facing the other boy.

Theodore shrugged. "Let's go inside, shall we?" Without waiting for either of them, he pushed the block of stone but it didn't budge. "Hm, strange," he muttered. He placed his hand on the mirror and tried to feel it through. "It's blocked."

Ron looked at him swiftly. "It is?" He checked it for himself and grimaced slightly right after. "You're right."

"What are you two going on about?" said Daphne impatiently.

The two boys ignored her. "So what are we going to do?" the dark-haired boy asked the redhead.

"Try calling your house-elf and tell him to check what's inside." instructed Ron to him.

"Alright," he sighed. "Skit." a loud crack rang across the corridor and Theodore's house-elf appeared in front of him, surprising Daphne. "Go inside and check what's blocking the path, it's the place I've summoned you last school year."

Skit the house-elf nodded, his droopy ears flapping, and disappeared. Few seconds later, the house-elf returned and piped up, "The path is block with big rocks, young master Nott!"

"I see, eliminate them," Theodore ordered the house-elf. Then he and the other two heard some noises happening from the other side of the wall. After less than two minutes, the magical creature returned and informed him that the rocks have been vanished. He had dismissed him and pushed the block of stone again, this time working. "Let's go."

Ron didn't look back and walked through the mirror. He looked around and saw no boulders in sight. He suddenly stumbled forward but managed to pick himself up. "Oi watch it!" he scowled at Daphne who just went in right after him.

Daphne straightened her robes and said huffily at him, "You didn't tell me that I have to walk in carefully." She glanced around the room and noticed the lack of interiors. She scrunched her nose a bit and said distastefully, "What a dreadful room. Is this where you and Theodore meet? There's hardly anything here." She gave a brief look on the tables, mismatched chairs and the off-coloured walls and shuddered slightly.

"Get a grip of yourself, Greengrass," snorted Ron. "This isn't a lounge or an extravagant meeting place. Anyway, now that we're here, you ought to answer my question."

She looked straight at him in the eye and gave him a smile Ron had seen her wore a couple of times. "I can make your life in Slytherin easier than you can ever imagine, Ronald. I can just tell them to lay you off for a couple of reasons without being obvious. Also, my family is quite influential, much more than the Parkinsons, Crabbes, Goyles, and other pureblood families."

"But not as well-connected and influential as the Malfoys," pointed out Ron.

"In the wizarding world, yes, but my family has reached heights that none of the families would ever imagine and that give us an advantage." she told him. 'That advantage is venturing our business in the Muggle world. Quite risking but there's a lot of potential gain. Also, I can give you money in payment for the visions I wanted to know –"

"And what do you want to know beforehand?" he said in mild curiosity.

"My future husband, how my family business is faring in the future, those sorts of things." she said without batting an eyelash.

Both Theodore and Ron stared at her. "You're kidding, aren't you?" snorted Ron. "That's a load of –"

"It isn't," huffed Daphne as she shot a silencing look at him. "Any person would want to know who they would end up with. Don't you want to know who you will be spending the rest of your life?"

"Dunno, I haven't seen it and never will be." said Ron bluntly. "I can't see my own future and that's the downside of it."

Daphne raised an eyebrow. "You didn't mention that last year." said Theodore.

"It's not that important." said the redhead. "Anyway, continue what you're saying Greengrass. I suppose you're not done talking considering that you're a girl."

She looked as if she wanted to retort about the comment but decided not to. "If you want any information, I can always give it you if you ask. I've given you three reasons and I'm sure you won't say no, especially the first one." she said confidently.

_She has a point_, thought Ron to himself. _Considering what Theodore offered, hers is much more. _He pondered about it for a moment, thinking deeply. He glanced toward Theodore who had a bored expression on his face but he knew better than in a second, he had seen a barely noticeable nod from him. Ron had decided. "I accept," he said finally. "but you have to sign a blood contract first –"

"And why would I do that?'" she questioned him.

"Because that's how it is. Nott already signed it and if you want in, you better do the same." he said matter-of-factly. "I'll just have to –"

"Already have it with me, Weasley." Theodore took out a rolled parchment from his robes and handed it to Ron.

"How did -?"

"You're easy to read." he said simply.

Ron shook his head. "Next time, don't go through my stuff. Right then, you need to sign the contract Greengrass and we'll have a deal." he said to her.

Daphne took the parchment and unrolled it, her eyes beginning to scan the contents of the contract. "I can't believe you signed this, Theodore." she said to the other boy. "It's ridiculous."

"I know but it's not like I have a choice," said Theodore. "and here's the quill." he took out the blood quill from his pocket and gave it to Daphne. "The faster you sign the contract, the better you will know what you're getting into."

"And you already have that?" said Ron in mild surprise.

"Since the beginning of the school year," he responded. "'thought it might come in handy. Sign it." he added as he turned his attention back to Daphne.

"There's no need to remind me." she said to him and signed the contract without hesitation. Her signature glowed momentarily until it vanished, causing her blood to turn ink black. "There, I've signed it." she said, returning the contract to Ron. "Now tell me." As promised no matter how much he didn't want to, Ron told her. He was giving out more details than he did to Theodore because Daphne would ask one question to another. After what it seemed to be hours when in fact it was only less than an hour, he was finally done.

"So do you have any more questions?" said Ron exasperatedly.

"No, I believe I asked everything I needed to know." said Daphne. Then she grabbed Ron's hand much to his and Theodore's surprise.

"What are you doing?" asked Ron strangely, staring at her small hands holding his.

"I want you to have a vision of me." she said simply. "Is it not working?"

Ron mentally shook his head. "That's not that it works. It happens when it happens. I can't summon my gift whenever I want to." he told her.

"So I have to have physical contact with you all the time just to get higher changes of having a vision?" she moaned.

"If you say it that way, then yeah." scowled Ron before shooting an annoyed look at Theodore. "What's with that look?"

Theodore looked away. "You're daft."

Daphne flushed suddenly, giving him a dirty look. "You are despicable, Theodore. I can't believe you're thinking that."

"You're the one who used the words." he said shortly.

Ron stared at two, trying and failing to understand what they were talking about. "That's enough. I don't even get what you two are talking about anyway." Shaking his head, he faced Daphne and removed his hand from her grip. "Look Greengrass, there is no way you can get me to summon my ability whenever you want to, it's not that easy. If I did get a vision relating to you, then I'll tell you but that's it." He stood up from his seat and said to the two, "Only the two of you know about this. Actually, none of you should've known about it in the first place but considering the circumstances, I don't have much of a choice. Just keep your word or you'll have to do the consequence."

Daphne shuddered slightly at the thought of what Ron mentioned. She also left her seat and approached Ron again. "You don't need to worry much, Ronald. Your secret's safe with me." She moved her hand and gave him a firm handshake as if sealing an agreement and Ron felt himself being pulled away on spot.

"_You're honestly not going to do anything, Daphne?__"__ questioned an older boy who Ron realized after a few seconds was no other than Theodore Nott. He grew taller and his hair was shorter but it was still clean-cut. His eyes were dark and calculating, gazing at the other person who was also inside the room._

_The older Daphne tucked strands of her hair behind her ear and said, __"__You've already seen it.__"__ Her hair was longer and sleeker and soft-looking. Her jade eyes were deeper in color and her skin was rosier than before. In Ron's honest opinion, she looked quite striking. __"__What is the point? He's not going to notice me as me anyway, Theo.__"_

"_That's the first time you've shortened someone's name,__"__ he remarked._

_Before Ron could hear her response, he was finally back._ He blinked a couple of times and his gaze fell on Daphne's younger face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she questioned him but her eyes widened. "Oh don't tell me, you already had a vision of me? So how do I look like? What am I doing and saying? Am I with someone at that time?"

"Yeah, I did." said Ron slowly. "You're okay," he said in response to her second question (he wasn't going to tell her what he thought). "and you were with Nott and you two were talking about someone." He said with little interest. "That's all you're going to hear from me. It's nothing much –"

"To you, but for me –" said Daphne.

"I'll be going now." said Ron, steering himself away from her and walked toward the entrance. "I'll see you two when I see you." He turned away from them and went through the mirror without saying anything anymore. He was very exhausted and thinking back what happened earlier, he realized a lot of things had happened in such a way no one would expect it to be. He shook his head in disbelief.

He planned on going back to the dormitory and catch up some sleep but something caught his eye. Hanging uselessly on one of the chandeliers was a pair of shoes. "Why are they up there?" he asked himself curiously.

"Oh you've seen it." said a dreamy voice behind him.

Ron whipped around, taking out his wand altogether, and pointed it at the person who spoke. He stopped and lowered his wand, staring at the person in mildly. It was a girl and it was obvious she was a first year. She had long dirty blonde hair, misty-blue eyes that irked him, and a look that made her seem surprised all the time. He knew the girl wasn't a Slytherin because he didn't see her in the common room (not that he would care to approach the person or anyone). "What?" he asked.

"My shoes," she said simply, staring up the chandelier. "it's up there."

"Those are your shoes?' he said slowly. "Why are they there anyway? Did you put it up there?"

The girl stared at him unblinkingly, making Ron uncomfortable. "No, I didn't. It must be the Snathidler's doing. They like to take and hide things from anyone."

"The Sna - what?" Ron stared at her oddly. "Whatever. Okay, so they're yours and you need it?"

The girl nodded. "I just need to pack my things." She said dreamily.

Ron raised his wand and said, "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" the shoes lifted themselves up from the ceiling and Ron directed it, using his wand, away before removing the spell. The floating shoes fell on the stone floor, creating a small echo in the corridor.

"Thank you," said the girl, picking up the shoes. Ron looked down and realized she wasn't wearing any footwear to begin with and felt sorry for her. "It's very kind of you to help me out."

"Oh, er, no problem." said Ron to her.

"But you're surrounded with so many Wrackspurts," she commented, earning a confused look from him. "I've never seen an infestation before. You shouldn't be thinking too much." She turned around and walked away, holding her shoes instead of wearing them.

"That's…weird," he said finally after she was out of sight. Then he thought of her words. _You shouldn't be thinking too much…_'She has a point,' he sighed. Scratching the back of his head, he headed back inside the Slytherin dungeons, inside the boy's dormitory and fell asleep immediately as soon as he lied on his bed. Thoughts of a huge snake, his sister pale and unmoving, Snape snarling and firing spells at anyone in front of him, Potter wielding a magnificent sword, and Fawkes's cry entered and meshed inside his mind it didn't make any sense anymore.

* * *

><p>"Hm, I think I packed everything." mused Ron to himself, checking the contents of his trunk. He was alone inside the dormitory and the rest of his fellow dorm mates were already out and were heading their way toward the train if he estimated the time.<p>

Before he closed his trunk, the door swung open and Daphne entered. "Oh you're still here, that's good." she said to him.

Ron gave her a look. "And what are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here anyway."

"If I'm not allowed here, then I wouldn't have been able to go up here in the first place." pointed out Daphne. She stepped forward, approaching the trunk and began rummaging his things, even tossing some of the objects she gotten hold of without care.

"Oi! What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, swooping down and picking up his things.

"Aha! I found it!" she said triumphantly, taking out Ron's journal. She sat down on Ron's bed and opened it, much to the redhead's chagrin. "Oh don't worry Ronald, I just wanted to see the visions you already had – Theodore told me." she added as she saw Ron's expression. "I won't be able to see this if we're on the train, I don't want to get caught with you of course. And I'm hoping you were able to write the vision you had about me – you didn't give me enough details."

Ron scowled at her. The door opened for the second time and this time, Theodore entered. "So you really went to look for him." he commented.

"This is your fault," snarled Ron at him. "if you –"

"Ronald, can you really get visions from animals as well?" questioned Daphne suddenly, her gaze focused on the journal.

"Yeah, I think so." he said to her, feeling mildly confused with her question. "You're reading the bit about Scabbers?" he asked.

"Yes, that ability of yours is amazing but it's just that…the vision here is odd. You didn't see your pet rat in it, did you? Just a short man with two other men –" she said slowly, a small frown appearing on her face. "- you didn't write anything about your pet."

"I've thought of that, but I didn't have much time to think of it," said Ron truthfully. "maybe I couldn't see him. It didn't seem that important –"

Daphne let out a sigh, tossing the journal back inside the trunk. "You may be right." She stood up from his bed and said, "Well, I did read what I wanted in the first place, and you were telling the truth – there wasn't much info." she huffed, crossing her arms and thinking about it. "I'll see you two next school year. Au revior!" she flipped her hair and walked out of the room.

"I still wished she doesn't remember everything she just learned yesterday." muttered Ron angrily, putting the rest of his things back inside the trunk.

"Things happen for a reason," said Theodore to him shortly. "It's almost time to leave."

"Yeah, I know." Ron locked the trunk securely and straightened his robes. "Another year ended. Merlin, I hope next school year won't be as mental as this year."

"You're just going to jinx it, Weasley." pointed out Theodore.

The two distanced each other the moment they walked out of the common room with Ron taking the left path while Theodore took the other side. Ron was more used to being isolated and it gave him comfort for some reason now unlike the previous year. He wasn't sure but he figured that being alone gave him a lot of time to think about what he should do in order to reach his goal and what priorities he should focus, especially with what happened with Ginny.

He sat down with his younger sister Ginny in a compartment near the left end of the train. Ron noticed the slight changes of her actions but he knew it would take a long time before the sister he knew would return. As the train blew its whistle, he thought that no matter what would happen, everything would turn out well in the end.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yep, it's shorter alright. And I do apologize if this chapter is lacking in every aspect you can think of.<strong>_

_**I think there's some people who don't like Daphne here ahahaha. Well, I like her that way so yeah, no can do about it. It's a bit tiring to see a soft-spoken, elegant, sophisticated, righteous Daphne-portrayal. I like to add more things about her. More…Slytherin-like. You know what I'm trying to say here, right? She's not like Pansy or Hermione. She's a bit of both but different in her own way so I do hope I'll be able to make use of her well.**_

_**Before I end this AN, I would like to say thank you for the reviews, alerts, favorites, and views! I really do appreciate it! And I've reached 109 reviews in 14 chapters! Okay, thirteen chapters since the other one is an announcement so that doesn't count ahahaha. Yep, I think I've said enough.**_


	15. Chapter 14

No matter how much he fanned himself, it wasn't enough. The breeze he hoped would come didn't arrive and it was making him sweat profusely. 'This is too much,' groaned Ron. He stood on a solid block of stone, glancing around him. He wore a hat, light-colored shirt and breezy shorts that his older brother Bill suggested to fight against the heat although it wasn't working much. Ron couldn't believe it even if he had seen it happening. A week before it happened, he had foreseen that his father would win the grand lottery worth seven hundred Galleons. It shocked him that he almost shouted it.

Luckily, his older brothers Fred and George pranked him by throwing pieces of egg and bacon at his face, causing to distract his thoughts. 'You alright, Ron?' asked Bill, who approached him from behind. He wore more clothing than his younger brother considering he stayed in Egypt for three years.

'It's bloody hot in here, I don't know how you survived in this country,' said Ron to him, fanning himself again.

'Watch your words,' said his older brother. 'Mum might hear you.'

Ron grimaced. 'Thanks for pointing that out,' he said. 'So where are we going this time?'

'We're going inside one of the pyramids,' said Bill enthusiastically. 'It's been checked out,' he added, noticing Ron's shrewd expression, 'so it's definitely safe for all of us to enter.' The two of them walked in silence and Ron could only hear the movements of the sand as they took one step after another. 'How's your practice?'

'It's going good although I'm still far away to finish everything,' said the younger brother casually. 'I've managed to do three ward spells and some hexes now.'

Bill smiled a bit. 'That's good to know,' he said. 'You need to be prepared for everything.'

'Yeah, since I'm a Slytherin,' nodded Ron and the conversation became somewhat prickly in his opinion. It was like an unspoken agreement that his House status shouldn't be mentioned because it was still surreal since his sorting. But Ron knew that his older brother Bill wasn't upset about it; he had a feeling Bill didn't want to talk about it for his sake and the gesture made him glad inside at least.

'There you two, we've been waiting,' said Mrs. Weasley who was the first one who noticed them coming.

'Sorry, we've been talking,' said Bill lightly, giving his mother a smile.

'About what?' asked the twins in unison.

'About my work and the next place where we will be going,' he said easily, giving Ron a brief wink. 'So let's get going, you're all going to like it.'

Ron lagged behind a bit, not wanting to be put in the spotlight but he saw Ginny walking beside him. 'Honestly, what were you and Bill talking about?' she asked him in a low voice. 'Don't lie to me, I saw him looking your way.'

'It's nothing important Gin,' he shrugged. 'Are you feeling better now?' he asked suddenly.

Ginny didn't respond immediately. Licking her lips, she said after a moment, 'I'm coping. It's still hard -'

'You'll be fine,' he said assuredly. 'Maybe not now, but soon.' He held her hand and gave a small squeeze as comfort. They caught up with the others and entered inside the pyramid Bill wanted to show them around. It was amazing inside with the minor booby traps and the Muggle skeletons that laid around the ground as they passed by. One of the hidden rooms where there were tombs of the undead were made Ron and the others gasp in awe. Unfortunately, Ginny wasn't allowed to enter by Mrs. Weasley who thought it wasn't good for her.

'Did you see the mutated heads -' said George excitedly.

'And the flesh – half of them aren't gone -' continued Fred as if he were a five-year old getting sweets.

'Why can't I see it?' pouted Ginny.

'Because you're a girl,' pointed out Ron. He earned a glare from her and added quickly, 'Don't give me that look. That's what most people think anyway.'

Ginny eyed him before turning away. 'You're safe for now Ron,' she said without looking back.

The whole Weasley family (minus Charlie who was in Romania) toured around the sites for a couple of more hours until they decided to go back. As they entered back inside the inn they were staying, Ron climbed upstairs to the room where he was staying and entered. 'I'm back,' he announced himself before looking to his right. He approached the bed where his pet rat Scabbers lay on top. The rat was sickly-looking with its fur receding and his body couldn't help but shake. Ron sighed. 'What the bloody hell's happening to you? You weren't like this two weeks ago,' he said to the rat but remembered what happened earlier which he thought was concerning with Scabbers.

_One fine morning at the Burrow, Ron arrived downstairs while yawning. 'Morning Mum,' he said as he took a seat and pulling a plate to him._

'_Morning dear,' responded his mother, placing a plate of eggs and another one with stacked toasts. _

_Ron noticed the newspaper lying on the table and he noticed something on the front page that caught his attention. He took it and checked what he saw and he let out a gasp. 'He – he -' he stammered, his eyes widening. He couldn't believe it. Words in bold capital letters were printed in the headlines:_

_**NOTORIOUS SIRIUS BLACK ON THE LOOSE**_

_**One of the most heavily-guarded prisoners, Sirius Black, managed to escape from Azkaban. Officials from the Department of Magical Law and Enforcement stated that they are already on the move to capture the escaped convict and put him back inside the prison. 'We began an investigation on how he managed to get out without getting noticed by the guards,' said one Auror who wished not to be named.**_

_**Precautions have been made by the Ministry to keep the wizarding community safe. 'No one should try and face against him,' said Scrimgeour firmly. 'He's as dangerous as he comes.'**_

_**The Ministry released precautionary measures for everyone to be safe and informed everyone to remain vigilant at all times. Sirius Black was convicted for murdering twelve Muggles in broad daylight, killing one wizard named Peter Pettigrew, and being in the league with You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters.**_

'_He's a murderer?' repeated Ron who still couldn't believe it. Then he remembered he vision he had before he board the Hogwarts express. He couldn't understand the connection between him and his pet rat's vision and the remaining two persons namely Peter and Remus. The words of Daphne suddenly resurfaced in his mind like an echo. _Don't you think that the vision itself is strange? There's no mention about your pet rat…

_He had to find out._

_Ron put down the newspaper and took a piece of toast and smattered it with marmalade hastily. He gobbled it quickly and wiped his hands on his shirt before going back upstairs to his bedroom. He opened his drawer and grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill and inkpot. Before he dipped the quill in the pot, he stopped for a moment. _

'_Who should I write to?' he asked himself. After a couple of minutes, he finally decided who to ask and began writing._

He wasn't able to get a response right after and he couldn't help but worry that it didn't reach the person. He checked the time on the wall clock in front of him. 'It's lunchtime, let's go down you,' he said to Scabbers as he picked him up with his hand and leaving the room.

* * *

><p>The Weasley family stayed for another week in Egypt until they finally went back to England. Bill bid them one by one, watching them go out of sight with a blink of an eye. 'Home sweet home,' said Mr. Weasley as they finally arrived in front of the Burrow using the magical Ford Anglia.<p>

Percy, who strutted inside first, said loudly, 'Who's expecting an owl?'

Ron became alert after hearing his words and ran inside much to everyone's surprise. He glanced around and saw a handsome-looking tawny owl with a crest attached to his chest and a letter attached to his leg. He untied the letter from the owl's leg and unrolled it, scanning the contents.

'That's the Greengrass's owl,' said Mr. Weasley who managed to get a glimpse of the crest from the owl.

'Er,' paused Ron and he looked up, feeling uncomfortable of the looks from the others. He put down the letter and said, 'I – er – well, you see -' _Come on Ron, think! _'Daphne Greengrass was asking about summer homework,' he said lamely. 'Yeah, summer Charms homework,' he added more firmly than earlier.

'Daphne?' repeated Mrs. Weasley sharply.

Ron gulped as everyone stared at him, expecting him to answer. 'She's just asking for some help,' he said, trying and failing to convince them.

'Oh really?' smirked Fred. 'What did the letter say?'

'Yeah, tell us Ronniekins,' egged on George, wearing the same expression as his twin brother.

'It's what it says,' he insisted.

'If you say so,' then Fred suddenly swooped down on him, his hand outstretched at the letter. Ron backed away clutching the letter tightly. Then George appeared behind him and snatched the letter before tossing it at Fred. 'Nice, George!'

'Oi! Give it back!' said Ron angrily, his heartbeat becoming faster. _They can't read it – they might find out –_

'Fred! George!' scolded Mrs. Weasley. 'You can't do that to your younger brother -'

Before Ron could charge at Fred, George blocked his way and said, 'Go and read it, Fred.'

'Will do,' smirked Fred as he opened the letter. '_Dearest Ronald, I couldn't believe you wrote to me and I apologize if I wasn't able to respond to you at a much earlier date_,' he read aloud, causing a total silence inside the area.

Ron stared at him, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. _What the bloody hell?_

'_I enjoyed spending time with you and I am thankful to have taken the courage to get to know you,_' continued Fred, the corner of his lips twitching upward. '_I am already counting the remaining days until I can see you once we're back at Hogwarts so that we can spend time together -_'

'That is a load of Doxy dung -!'snarled Ron, his ears now beet red. 'That's not what it says in there!'

George grabbed the letter from Fred who in turn blocked Ron this time. George glanced down the letter and continued, '- _I wish to know more about you and I hope you feel the same way too. Love, Daphne,_' he put down the letter and he and Fred shared a look before turning to face Ron whose face was now red. 'So, Charms homework eh?' he asked teasingly, waving the letter in his hand.

'Shove it,' scowled Ron, grabbing his letter back in shoving it inside his front pocket. 'That's not what it says in the letter,' he repeated steely.

'That's what we read,' said the two, grinning from ear to ear. 'So Daphne -'

'She's not my girlfriend!' said Ron hastily before any of them could say anything.

The twins shared amused looks. Percy shook his head at the twins' antics while Ginny gave Ron an incredulous look. 'We didn't say -' began Fred.

'- that she's your girlfriend,' continued George.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley shared a look. 'Ron,' said Mr, Weasley.

'I really do mean it!' said Ron loudly. 'Daphne – I mean Greengrass – she's just a Housemate, is all – don't give me that look you guys -' he said as he saw the disbelieving looks from the others. 'You're taking this out of line -'

'We're not, you are,' pointed out George casually, obviously enjoying the moment.

'That's enough you two,' said Mrs. Weasley to the twins. 'You have no say who Ron should be dating -'

'Mum!' said Ron, his face flushed.

'- but you, young man, should be explaining to your Dad and I,' continued Mrs. Weasley, turning around and giving Ron a beady look. 'You ought not to be hiding things like this -'

'I'm not! Honestly!' swore Ron.

Mrs. Weasley raised her hand and Ron fell silent abruptly. 'You will tell us your relation with this Daphne Greengrass and you will introduce her to us.' When she saw Ron's face fell in shock, she went on, 'It's only right. She sounds like a nice girl and we want to know who your friends are.'

He groaned. 'But she's not my friend!'

'You mean she's your -?' said Fred cheekily.

'Not even that,' glared Ron at him. 'Look, there's nothing going on between her and I.'

'And why did she send you a letter in the first place, then?' questioned Ginny, her eyes filled with curiosity and mild amusement.

'She must've sent it as a bit of a prank, is all,' said Ron tersely. 'She likes to cause trouble and this is one of those things. Look Mum,' he said to his mother. 'If you want to know my friends if I ever get one -' the comment he made caused everyone to flinch slightly, '- I'll introduce them to you but right now, I don't have one so let's end this rubbish talk. I'm going up to my room,' he didn't say anything anymore and left the living room, climbing upstairs and going straight inside his bedroom.

Ron locked the door behind him and pulled out the letter. He unfolded it and began to read.

_Dear Ronald,_

_I already sent Theodore a letter about what you wanted to know although I can also give you that. But since you asked specifically for his help, then so be it. Just tap the letter twice and say 'Aperio' and his response will appear._

_If you need anything, just owl me._

_Regards,_

_Daphne_

_P.S._

_If someone else tries to read this letter, something else will appear. Just to let you know._

Ron scowled as he read the last bit. 'No wonder they read something else,' he muttered mutinously. He fished out his newly purchased wand (fourteen inches, made of Willow with a male unicorn hair tail as core) and tapped the letter twice while saying, '_Aperio_.' Daphne's curvy words faded and were replaced with narrow yet swift handwriting.

_Weasley,_

_I'm astounded you asked for my help through Greengrass in order to avoid suspicion. As for you question, I've made some research and it revealed some things you might think is interesting. _

_Sirius Orion Black II is the eldest son of the Noble House of Black. He is related to the Malfoys from Draco's mother, Narcissa Malfoy nee Black. During his stay at Hogwarts, he was sorted to Gryffindor and became friends to Mudbloods and blood-traitors alike. One of his closest friends was late James Charles Potter, the late father of Harry Potter. He was also friends with Remus Lupin, a half-blood and Peter Pettigrew, a pureblood without much talent._

_From what most people knew, Sirius Black betrayed your side and sided with the Dark Lord and his followers. He also murdered twelve Muggles in broad daylight and killed his own friend, Peter Pettigrew._

_There's still some things that are lacking but I will tell you more about it when we meet back at Hogwarts. I don't want this letter to be read by others. Burn this right after you have read what I've written down. We cannot be careless._

_From,_

_Theodore Nott _

Ron wore a disgusted expression as he finished reading the letter. 'He's related to Malfoy of all people?' he said in revulsion as he crumpled the letter. 'So a former Gryffindor turned Dark wizard supporter is now on the loose and he used to be best mates with Potter's dad? What's next? He's godfather to Potter?' he shook his head, processing the information quickly.

He took out his journal and checked the vision he had relating to the mass murderer. 'But if Black did kill Pettigrew, who's the Peter I've seen in the vision?' mused Ron to himself in his low voice before glancing down. He saw his pet rat Scabbers scuttling his way through the small hole at one corner of the room. He watched the rat scamper in panic and went under the bed. He bent down and saw him shaking. 'Oi, are you sick or something?' he asked his pet. Sighing, he stood up and said, 'I'll bring you some food, Scabbers if you're hungry.' He tucked the journal back inside his trunk, locking it securely.

He unlocked the door, went out and walked down again. He simply ignored the teasing coming from the twins and the looks from his mother and Ginny. He went over the fireplace with fire cackling merrily from the firewood, took out a crumpled letter and threw it inside.

'You burned it?' blurted out Ginny, staring at him as if he grew another head.

'I already read what's written inside,' he shrugged, turning away and walking out of the house.

* * *

><p>Things were proven difficult to move around in public places since someone dangerous like Sirius Black was out in the open. When they ventured to Diagon Alley to buy some books and other things they needed, Ron could tell the atmosphere was less than cheery. Families stayed together and there was not a single person to be seen in the streets. Fortunately in a big family, they had to separate into two groups in order to finish what they were supposed to do quickly. He was with his dad, Ginny and Percy (the twins were with Mrs. Weasley much to their dismay) and they were making their way in on the Magical petshops to buy some cure for Scabbers.<p>

'Hurry up, Ron,' said Ginny.

Ron stopped the urge of rolling his eyes at her. 'Don't get your knickers in a twist,' he said as he approached the counter where the owner was. 'Hello, do you have somet -' Suddenly, something big, hairy and orange leapt from the inside and landed on Ron's face. He let out a yelp and fell on the floor, surprising the people close to him.

'Crookshanks, no!' said a familiar voice.

Ron tried to pull the thing from his face while protecting himself. 'Get – this – bloody – thing – from – ME!' he said in emphasis as he finally got rid of it. He sat up and to his shock, Hermione stood in front of him with that monstrosity in her arms.

'Oh, I'm terribly sorry for what happened, Weasley,' she said apologetically to him. 'You weren't -?'

'You bought that – huge furball!' said Ron hoarsely, standing up and staring at her and the animal in disbelief. 'That thing almost scalped me!'

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'He has a name and it's Crookshanks. And yes, I did buy him.'

'And I've never thought you're that mental,' said Ron bluntly. 'You have no taste in picking animals. You could've picked an owl -'

'Yes, and if that owl has the urge to attack your face, then I won't be able to help you,' cut across Hermione sarcastically. 'It's not like you're going to see Crookshanks often, he'll be spending most of his time in Gryffindor's, not yours.'

'Yeah, yeah, you have a point,' said Ron. 'Anyway, I'm sure you know my siblings Ginny and Percy,' he gestured his two siblings not far from him who nodded toward her in acknowledgement, 'and my Dad,' he said, introducing Mr. Weasley to the bushy-haired Gryffindor. 'She's Granger, the smartest in our year.'

'And you're a Muggleborn, is that correct?' said Mr. Weasley enthusiastically, shaking Hermione's outstretched hand. 'Excellent.'

'It's nice to meet you, Mr. Weasley,' said Hermione politely. She faced Ron and said, 'I have to go now. Harry and Neville might be looking for me.' She bid them and left the pet shop, her hair bouncing behind her.

Ron watched her until he could no longer see her from the crowd. 'Do you have a cure for rats? Mine is sick,' he said to the pet shop owner. When he finally got the rat tonic, he and his family went to Flourish and Blotts to buy the books. Out of the books he needed, the Muggle Studies book was the only new book he had. He decided to come with Fred, George and Ginny to the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop and all of them gazed dreamily at the display. It was a newly released broomstick, the Firebolt.

'That's got to be the fastest broom,' said Fred in awe, earning nods from George and Ron.

'Yeah, they're favorites in the World Cup,' agreed George.

Ron checked the price and blanched. 'No matter how fast it is, it's a hefty price to get one,' he said as he read _Price on Request_ on the tag below the broom. _And besides, one Firebolt can make our lives easier with the money it costs,_ added Ron mentally, steering his way from the display.

They stayed at Diagon Alley a bit longer than they intended until they finally went home. Ron felt exhausted for some reason and lied on his bed as soon as he landed on it. 'That cat has some sort of vendetta against me,' he murmured as his eyelids fluttered before falling asleep.

* * *

><p>In a dark alley, there was a small movement behind one of the garbage cans. As the moonlight hit, a large black dog appeared which seemed to be scavenging some food. One door opened and a cook walked out and noticed the animal. 'You feeling hungry, boy?' he asked the dog.<p>

The dog looked at the man and gave a loud bark.

'It's your lucky night, we have some leftovers,' he said before going back inside and coming out again with a huge plate with mixed food. 'Here you go,' he bent down and placed the plate on floor and stepped away. 'You better clean that plate or you won't be getting more from us,' he said lightly, and then he was out of sight right after he closed the door.

The moment the door closed, the dog was no longer in sight and was replaced with a man with long shabby hair, pale skin with a gaunt face, and hollow-looking eyes. He dug the food down, eating it sloppily and hungrily. Before he could finish the last morsel, the door swung open.

'Ah you've finished it,' said the man who returned, picking the plate up.

The man was gone and the large shaggy black dog reappeared again. He let out a bark, letting the man know that he enjoyed the meal.

The cook let out a laugh. 'I'm pleased you liked it,' he said. 'I'll see you if you're still here tomorrow,' he bid the dog and closed the door again with a loud thud.

The dog stared at the door as if waiting for it to open but he turned away and began walking. As the animal passed by the stores, the television store was showing a news channel. '_The community would like everyone to keep an open eye if they see someone walking free._' A picture appeared and a man with long shabby hair and pale skin was shown for everyone to see. '_If you see this person, dial the number shown in the screen immediately._'

* * *

><p><em><strong>And this is where I end the first chapter of Ron's third year.<strong>_

_**I'd like to give some kind of introduction for one Sirius Orion Black II. I honestly think I didn't do a good job but it's doable at the moment. I hope you guys like the humor I've put in this one and yes, I've added a Ron/Hermione scene! More will come! **_

_**Third year will be the most challenging one for me this year because it's where the AU starts to show, I hope! I wanted the AU to start in this one more likely so wish me luck. I'm not good at changing from Canon to AU so any help I can get some you guys will be highly appreciated! I really do mean it!**_

_**Next chapter will be released next month! Ahahaha yes, I apologize if this is taking so long.**_


	16. Chapter 15

'Hurry, you lot!' said Mrs. Weasley to her children as they bustled their way to the barrier.

Percy went in with his things, then the twins, Ron with Ginny this time and lastly Mr. and Weasley. As Ron checked the time right after going through the barrier, he was glad that they finally arrived ten minutes before the departure. Mrs. Weasley began giving everyone their packed sandwiches and said, 'Now get in, and study hard.'

Ron accepted his portion without asking what the filling was and hastily went inside the train with his trunk. He glanced from one compartment to another, hoping to find a spare one but there wasn't. He sighed.

'What are you doing standing there?' asked Ginny suddenly who appeared behind him.

'Oh, hi Gin,' said Ron, turning to face her.

'Looking for a compartment? I know one,' she said with a small grin and in one compartment on the left side, there was one person inside. She slid the door open and poked her head inside, talking to the person inside. 'Hello Luna, do you mind if my brother and I stay with you?'

'No, I don't,' the person inside responded in a dreamy-like manner.

'Come Ron, let's go in,' she said as she opened the door wider for her and Ron to enter.

Ron stepped in and his gaze landed on the person, and his eyes to widen slightly. It was the same strange girl he met in the corridor whose shoes were dangling up in a chandelier. 'It's you,' he said.

'Hello,' said the blonde although she wasn't looking directly at him. She was holding up a newspaper entitled the Quibbler.

'So the two of you know each other?' asked Ginny genuinely.

'Yeah, sort of,' nodded Ron, hoisting his trunk inside first before Ginny's. When he was done, he shut the door and sat down beside his sister. 'And you? How did you know her?'

Ginny shook his head. 'Ron, she and her dad live almost close to our home,' she said. 'She's Luna Lovegood,' she added, introducing the blonde girl opposite of her. 'And she's my playmate since you and the others wouldn't let me play with you.'

'Yes, Ginny really likes to play Quidditch with her brothers but you won't let her because she's a girl,' said the girl named Luna suddenly, her eyes glued on the Quibbler.

Ron's insides squirmed. _Does she just say things like it's nothing?_

Ginny, sensing the awkward atmosphere, said hastily, 'So how's your summer Luna?'

'It went well as usual,' responded the blonde girl.

As the two girls talked, Ron turned away and watched the scenery. _Why did I end up in this compartment? _He asked gloomily to himself, but he wouldn't admit it out loud that he's pleased to have some company this time. They had lunch together with Ron and Ginny swapping their sandwiches and Luna eating a type of food Ron thought it shouldn't be eaten in the first place due to its appearance. Time dragged on a bit as the sun was about to set, sinking down beyond the mountains until it was already dark.

Then, the train began to slow down. 'We're already there?' asked Ron in surprise, poking his head outside the window and checking out.

'We can't be there yet,' said Luna abruptly, her dream-like voice gone all of a sudden.

'What do you mean? The train stopped -' said Ginny as she stood up, moving her hand toward the handle of the door.

'Don't,' Luna held out her hand to stop her. 'Sit back, it's coming,' she said.

'What's coming -?' questioned Ron until he felt the temperature dropped unexpectedly. He felt his whole body was being sunk in icy cold water and the lighting inside the train began to black out. He heard some of the students letting out gasps and a small confusion happened.

From outside, he could see a silhouette of someone tall walking, passing by each compartment sinisterly. The temperature dropped more and Ron felt his body shaking from the cold. Then he felt his sister Ginny shaking uncontrollably and began muttering words as if talking to someone. 'No – please don't -' she pleaded, wrapping her arms tightly around herself and letting out a dry sob.

Ron began to hear voices of his parents and siblings crying and a scene of Fred lying motionlessly on the crumpled floor with an older George sobbing hard on him. 'He's not dead yet -' shouted out Ron, wanting to reach and tell them what he wanted to say. But before he could do that, the scene faded away and the image of the compartment returned, along with the lights inside the train.

'Gin,' he said, sitting closely to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

Ginny let out a small whimper, covering her face with her hair. 'You should all eat this,' said Luna, her dreamy voice back. She was holding out two pieces of Chocolate Frogs to the two of them. 'It'll help you,' she told them.

'What happened earlier? What came -?' questioned Ron to her as he accepted the food.

'A Dementor entered the train,' answered Luna, her eyes focused on the Quibbler once again.

Ron's mouth fell open. 'A Dementor?' he repeated. 'What's it doing here?'

Luna's slow response was, 'Whatever reasons that creature was here earlier wasn't a good one no matter how many sides one looks at.' And after that, the compartment was filled with silence.

The rest of the journey wasn't enjoyable anyone and Ron could tell everyone was talking about the Dementor that entered, speculating why it was there in the first place. An hour later, the train began to slow down and he knew they already arrived in Hogsmeade station. None of the three spoke a word as they left the compartment. The noise was lesser than usual and everyone hurried to get a carriage to reach the castle. Ron felt a chill pass through his body and looked around. He stiffened at the sight of more Dementors standing sinisterly a few feet away from the gates.

He pulled his sister closer to him (he felt her shiver the moment they stepped out of the train) and rode on the nearest carriage. 'What made Dumbledore hire those filthy things?' growled Ron angrily, watching them away.

The farther they were from them, the better they felt and Ginny was regaining her usual spark. She hopped off the carriage and said to Ron, 'Thanks,' she said to him quietly.

'You keep saying that word a lot these days,' he pointed out with a grin.

Ginny swatted his arm and stuck out her tongue. 'Then that'll be the last one you get to hear from me,' she turned around and walked away from him, joining her fellow Gryffindors.

Ron snorted at her antics and turned right, heading his way straight to the Slytherin table. No matter how much he tried to uplift his spirits, he couldn't because he knew too well he would be spending another ten months in the Slytherin dungeons with the people he detested (most of them, most especially Draco Malfoy). He spotted Daphne sitting on the left side of the table and annoyance rose inside him. He sat far away from her as much as possible, not wanting to deal with her on the first night.

He glanced around and noticed Harry and Hermione were out of sight at the Gryffindor table. He wondered where the two were right now until he got an earshot from Draco who sat not so far away from him.

'- he just fainted like a weakling,' said Draco to his circle of friends. Then he began miming, moving him hand to his head and acting like a damsel in distress. After that he earned shrieks of laughter to those who heard him.

Ron shook his head in disgust. 'Pathetic,' he muttered, turning his back at them.

When the doors opened, first years walked in twos with McGonagall leading the way. Everyone inside the Great Hall fell silent as the Sorting Hat began to sing. It wasn't long when it was done then McGonagall began to call out the students one by one. Ron leaned back, deciding not to watch until he heard a particular name. 'Greengrass, Astoria,' said McGonagall out loud and a girl stepped out from the line.

Ron glanced her way and appraised her. She looked nothing like Daphne, having brown hair similar to dark chocolate, oval-shaped face, fair skin (although Ron could tell hers were slightly darker and he assumed the girl went out more than her older sister), and blue eyes.

'She's going to be in Slytherin, I'm sure of it,' he heard Daphne said firmly to anyone she was talking to.

After a few seconds the hat was placed on her head, the Sorting Hat shouted, 'SLYTHERIN!' The younger Greengrass earned a moderate applause coming from the House of Snakes (even from Snape who clapped only twice). 'Congratulations Astoria,' greeted Daphne to her younger sister who just arrived at the table.

The girl named Astoria merely nodded toward her and sat down along with the two other first years who also got sorted in the same House.

When the last of the first year got sorted, McGonagall picked up the hat and stool and put it away from sight. Dumbledore, the school's headmaster, stood up from his seat, causing the whole hall to become silent once more. 'Welcome! Welcome to another at Hogwarts!' he began, giving everyone a smile with his arms outstretched. This time, Ron paid attention to the old wizard, hoping that he and the rest of the students would be told why the Dementors were at Hogwarts. 'As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business.'

Mutterings and whispers broke out as he said this, and Ron wondered what kind of business it was all about. He saw the faint grim expression on his face, understanding full well that Dumbledore didn't agree with the setting. Dumbeldore continued to warn the students to stay away from the dread creatures to avoid harm and when he was done, he then proceeded to introduce two new Hogwarts staff.

The first one he introduced what the professor who would be teaching the rumoured jinxed teaching post, Defense Against the Dark Arts. The moment Ron laid his eyes on him, he felt his heart stop beating. 'First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,' said Dumbledore merrily, his usual spark returned. Ron couldn't believe what he was seeing right now. 'Remus Lupin,' he said under his mouth, staring at the man in shock. He looked exactly like what he had foreseen: Sandy-colored hair, weary brown eyes, premature lines on his young face, and faint scars if Ron looked closer.

Ron turned and his eyes met with Theodore who gave a short nod. _It's him_, they said as if talking with each other.

The opening feast was uneventful (in Ron's words nothing unusual happened) and by the time everyone was full, it was already time to go their respective Houses. Ron quickly entered the dormitory, whipping out his wand and began casting some spells before changing his clothes. By the times his other dorm mates entered, he was already in bed with the ink green curtains covering him.

The following morning, Ron's spirit lifted for the day due to what happened shortly after he woke up; Draco and his cronies planned on doing mean to him but it backfired due to Ron's ward spells. When Ron woke up and pulled his curtains, the sight of Draco, Crabbe and Goyle lying on the floor and wet from head to toe greeted him. 'Well, good morning to you,' he said coolly to them. 'You've taken a bath with your clothes, I've noticed.'

Draco growled at him. 'You'll pay for this -'

'And what did I do?' sneered Ron. 'You're the one who got himself soaked inside out.' He jumped over them and added before entering inside the bathroom, 'You ought to dry yourselves – people might think you three went for a swim at the Black Lake with the Giant Squid.'

At the Slytherin table, he received his schedule from Snape and was elated that he had less time with the rest of his fellow Housemates. Also, the food being served was one of his favorites. Things couldn't get any better in Ron's opinion. His first lesson was Ancient Runes. He stood up to leave the Slytherin table and walked out of the Great Hall to get ahead of time since he didn't know where the classroom was located. Minutes later, Ron finally reached his destination.

He wasn't surprised to see Hermione Granger already inside the classroom, poring herself with a book as usual. 'You're early, Granger,' he said to her in greeting as he sat down on a seat at the back of the classroom.

Hermione looked up from her book and glanced over her shoulder to face him. 'Attendance is important,' she said loftily. 'And you're here,' she added. 'I thought you've take something easy like Divination.'

Ron snorted. 'I'm not interested in seeing the future,' he lied smoothly. 'How about you? Wouldn't you want to know what score you will get in the future?'

'Hardly,' Hermione turned away from him and Ron could tell she was rolling her eyes at him.

'So where's Potter and Longbottom? They took different electives, eh?' asked Ron and he didn't know why he wanted to continue the conversation when in fact Hermione wasn't interested in talking to him and wanted nothing more but to read the book she was holding.

'Yes,' she let out a soft sigh. 'Harry took Divination and Care of Magical Creatures while Neville took Muggle Studies and also Care of Magical Creatures.'

'And you? This one and Arithmancy, correct?'

'And why do you want to know what electives I took?' asked Hermione, her back facing him.

'Just asking, is all,' shrugged Ron and he knew that the conversation was over. He rested his head, feeling his eyes falling right after talking.

By the time the bell rang, the classroom was already filled with students who also chose the subject. A middle-aged looking woman with some of her hair greying due to age spoke with a smile, 'Good morning, students! I'm pleased that a lot of you have taken Ancient Runes as one of your elective subjects. My name is Professor Bathsheda Babbling and I hope you will enjoy this class just as much as I enjoy teaching it.'

Ron expected the class to be extremely hard (he didn't much understand most of Bill's notes related to Ancient Runes while he was young) and it was, but interesting unlike History of Magic. The subject involved memorization and understanding the meaning behind each rune or symbol. Ron thought it was a good enough subject and he was glad he had taken it. He, Theodore and Tracey (they were the only Slytherins in their year to have taken the subject) marched their way toward the Transfiguration classroom. Ron ignored the death glares Draco kept sending him throughout the lesson and when it was over, the blonde Slytherin took the chance to corner him with the help of Crabbe and Goyle.

'What? You're going to hit me?' said Ron, his hands in his pockets. His right hand held his wand tightly, clenching once in a while.

'No one's in sight,' hissed Draco, grabbing the collar of Ron's shirt. 'I've told you Weaselbee, you're going to regret everything you've done to me -'

'And you think I'm just going to stand here and let you do what you want?' he growled.

'Of course not, but that's not going to stop me,' Draco raised his fist when a voice not far from them spoke directly to their direction.

'What's going on here?' it was the new professor, Remus Lupin, and he strode over with a raised look on his face. 'Well? What are you planning on doing, Mr. Malfoy?' he asked mildly to Draco whose glare was directed to him now.

'Nothing,' gritted out Draco, giving him a disgusted look. He let go of Ron and gave a sharp nod to his cronies. 'Let's go Crabbe, Goyle.'

Ron straightened his shirt as he glared at the three boys. 'Are you alright?' asked Remus to him, surprising him.

'Oh, yeah,' nodded Ron. 'Thank you sir,' he added, not wanting to look ungrateful.

Lupin gave him a small smile. 'It's quite nothing, now hurry to your next class – you don't want to be late,' he said lightly to him.

'Right, thanks for reminding me,' the redhead said before jogging away. As he took a left turn, a thought entered his mind that he couldn't help but scowl at himself. 'I should've at least made some bit of contact, I might've gotten a chance getting a vision of out him,' he muttered himself.

After attending his third class which was Charms class, Ron went to the Great Hall to have some lunch. He mulled over how to get a vision from the new Defense professor (but he knew there was a low chance of getting one since he couldn't summon it) as he ate a slice of meat pie from his plate. Then thoughts of Sirius Black entered his mind as well and Ron wanted to know more about the history between the two and Peter Pettigrew. He knew it would be difficult but he had to try. He decided right after the bell rang across the hall that he would do some bit of research for a moment before stepping further.

* * *

><p>'Have you got more information?' questioned Ron to Theodore as they met inside at one of the most secluded places in the library. It was already the weekend and hardly anyone was in the library which was a good place to meet without getting suspicious.<p>

'Yes, you might be interested with this,' drawled Theodore to him as he held out the book entitled _Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy_. He opened the book and turned a couple of pages until he stopped.

'Well?' asked Ron impatiently as he glanced around, not wanting to be seen with the boy.

'Other than the Malfoys, The Noble House of Black are also related to your family, the Weasleys,' he said coolly, causing Ron to splutter and gape at him in pure disbelief. 'Your father's father, Septimus Weasley, married to Cedrella Black, who is probably related to Sirius Black as a second cousin. But I'm sure you knew that, Weasley,' he told him.

'I – well, not exactly,' admitted Ron. 'I only know the male line but I didn't much bother knowing the maiden names of any of my female ancestors before they got married to a Weasley.' He had read his family tree but he had forgotten almost half of what he read. 'Do you have any information about Peter Pettigrew?' he asked suddenly. The information he learnt about Sirius Black was more than enough and the next person he needed to know was the mysterious wizard, Peter Pettigrew.

'What have you found out?' asked Theodore back to him.

'From what I can gather from this place, he's one of the talented Potioneers, other than Snape and Lily Evans in their year I think,' shrugged Ron. 'And that he got blasted by Black.'

'Fair enough,' he said. 'I asked my father and some other people through bribes and as you've said, his only talent is Potions, nothing more. But as for his circle of friends, there were only three and I've already mentioned them in the letter – James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. They said the four were quite a tight-knitted group and they hardly let anyone join them. And they did a number of pranks during their years at Hogwarts -'

Ron raised an eyebrow at this. 'They're pranksters?'

'That's what they said,' shrugged Theodore. 'Most of their pranks were directed to the Slytherins -' Ron scowled at this, '- so there was a bit of a feud going on. Anyway, that wasn't important. There were hardly any more records about him. Like I said, he wasn't that recognized.'

'Have you got any picture of him, perhaps?' asked Ron. 'Anything?'

Theodore shook his head. 'None at the moment but I'm sure I'll get one. It's slightly hard since I'm finding information about a pathetic Gryffindor.'

Ron bit back a retort and let out a sigh. 'We can't exactly move on. It's quite absurd but if the Peter I saw in my vision is the same one who got killed by Black, then what we're getting into is deeper than we imagine. I need more information.'

'We'll just have to keep on finding,' said Theodore. 'I just hope it's related to the war or I'd be wasting my time doing Auror work.' He picked up Nature's Nobility and faced his back at him. 'Until next time, Weasley.'

As soon as he left, Ron decided to leave too after contemplating for a few minutes. He knew Theodore had a point; without having the right information, he couldn't make a move. It was like chess. He wasn't going to make a mistake, he made sure of that. It was common knowledge that one simple or small error could affect a huge outcome and so was making a correct decision.

Then one day, shortly after attending Muggle Studies (the topic was about the first inventions Muggles made during the old age) Ron heard something happened and it was no other than Draco Malfoy. It was during Care of Magical Creatures that he got hurt by the hippogriff and claimed he was attacked. Ron snorted at the rumor but he didn't realise it was true when he saw Draco with his right arm bandaged. 'I only did what that stupid oaf told us and then that beast attacked me -' told Draco to his listeners one evening in the Slytherin common room.

'It must've been scary,' cooed Pansy who sat closest to Draco.

Ron snorted as he heard the blonde while passing by. Draco shot him a glare after hearing his reaction and sneered, 'What are you looking at?'

'Nothing really,' said Ron coolly. 'It's just that hippogriffs don't attack for no reason from what I've read. And considering you got hurt by one, it must've mean that you did something really stupid. Just a thought,' smirking at Draco's momentarily flushed look, he left the common room and out of the dungeons.

As he walked around the castle, he had yet to decide what to do next. He still had no clue whatsoever on what he needed to know. It had been awhile since he got a vision and he hoped he could get one this year. All he needed was a bit of luck and the right timing. He passed by the grounds when he saw a pair of orbs glinting faintly from the moonlight. He peered closer and saw Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. The cat seemed to have felt his presence and turned to face him, his beady amber eyes boring on him.

'Got a problem with me?' asked Ron, then he felt foolish for asking a cat.

Crookshanks let out a low purr before vanishing out of sight from the darkness. Ron shook his head and continued his walk. 'And she said that cat would stay put in their place,' he muttered. Walking away, he couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching him. He glanced around but he saw no one. 'It must be my imagination,' he said.

By the time Monday arrived, Ron felt he had a good chance to get a vision from his Defense professor. He had Defense class with the Ravenclaws and from what he heard during the last few days, the latest professor of the jinxed subject knew what he was teaching. This time, he took a seat on the left side of the third row from his usual preference.

'Good morning class,' said Lupin good-naturedly to the students as class began.

'Good morning, sir,' responded the students although the ones who truly responded were the Ravenclaws, not from the Slytherins.

'My name is Remus Lupin and I'll be your professor for this subject,' he took out his wand from his robes and pointed it at the blackboard before flicking it slightly. Words appeared on it and it formed a question that said _What did you learn about Defense Against the Dark Arts?_ and Lupin continued, 'So what you can see from the board is a question I wanted all of you to answer in one sentence. You may introduce yourself first and then you can answer the question. Let's start from the left,' he gestured towards one boy wearing glasses.

'My name is Anthony Goldstein and I learned about this subject is absolutely nothing,' he said simply, earning some nods from his fellow Ravenclaws.

Lupin nodded. 'Alright, your turn Miss,' he said, his words directed to a girl with long ebony hair.

'Hello. I'm Li Su and what I learned from Defense is make color combinations, especially to the color lilac,' she said, her cheeks flushing. Her friends let out some chuckles and snorts, most especially from the boys.

The small activity continued and when it was Ron's turn, he said bluntly, 'Hullo sir. My name is Ron Weasley and what I learned about this subject is that letting a horde of Cornish Pixies out from a cage in a classroom filled with students is completely stupid.'

'Cornish Pixies, you say?' repeated Lupin in mild amusement. 'So that was true, then.' When the activity was over, he flicked his wand and the words on the board disappeared. 'Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It seems that we have a lot of catching up to do,' he said lightly. 'This year, we're going to learn Dark creatures but first, we'll have to skim some parts of what you should've learned for the past year for a bit.' He began lecturing on a brief introduction of defensive spells and its difference from offensive and counter-offensive spells. After that, he proceeded with examples of each category and what it could do.

It didn't occur to Ron that he was actually paying attention in Defense class. He already read what Lupin was discussing but his way of explaining things made him understand more and it was more interesting than learning it from a book. By the end of the class, he had a feeling Lupin was a good professor unlike his predecessors (he told them they'll be first tackling some dark creatures tomorrow to give them an idea). His thoughts were confirmed judging by the reactions and comments of the other students who already had his class and they were all positive.

The Slytherins, on the other hands, said otherwise but in Ron's opinion, they didn't count much because most of them were prejudiced. The one who seemed to hate Lupin the most was no other than the head of Slytherin, Severus Snape. From what he heard, during Lupin's first class with the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, their first lesson was facing a Boggart. Then one of the students in the form of Neville Longbottom had his fear on Snape (Ron couldn't blame, Snape could be really nasty to the other non-Slytherins) but it wasn't that the rumor was about his fear of Snape but because of what he had done to make his fear disappear with laughter. He wasn't sure which was true but what was most consistent in those rumors was that Boggart-Snape wore a gaudy dress, an old-style hat with a vulture on top and a huge red handbag (or something along the lines, thought Ron).

Ron thought it was funny even though he hadn't seen it, but he couldn't help but be sorry for Neville who had to face the Potions master's wrath for the next lessons he had. _What comes around, comes around,_ thought Ron to himself as he watched Snape hover menacingly at Neville.

Nothing unusual happened for the next few days until it was already October. Ron was beginning to feel frustrated over the lack of visions but Theodore thought he shouldn't worry about it too much. 'If you keep on thinking of getting, it might never come,' he said to Ron as they made their way discreetly to the fourth floor.

'I can't help it,' growled Ron. 'It's been months since I had a vision and it was Greengrass's,' he pushed the block of stone on the wall and went through the mirror. Then Ron stopped dead and gaped at what he was looking. 'What the bloody hell happened _here?_' he yelped.

Theodore who finally entered, stopped and glanced around. 'Not bad,' he commented.

The whole room's interior changed. The faded old wallpapers were replaced with creamy white ones. An emerald green sofa, two high chairs and a short-legged coffee table were there instead of the usual table and old chairs. A chandelier was attached to the ceiling, brightening the area, and three paintings and other fixtures were adorned in some corners of the room. There was also a bookshelf and surprisingly enough, a number of books were arranged inside.

'Who did this?' said Ron finally, getting over his shock.

'I did, Ronald,' came Daphne's voice. She was already inside the room, standing behind the two boys with a smirk on her face. 'All of my hard work paid off, don't you think?' she sat down on the sofa and waited for them to respond.

'And this is what you've been doing for the past few days? Decorating the room?' mused Theodore.

'Of course, I'm not going to spend time in a dirty, passé room, I might get sick,' she said to him. 'I did consult a Muggle interior designer to ask what colors will complement not just for girls, but for boys as well.'

'You're mental,' said Ron. 'And where did you manage to get all of these – these things inside?' he sat down in one of the high chairs and gave her a look.

'I asked my family's House-elves to bring the furniture inside,' said Daphne simply. 'Just like what Theodore did to his elf. Honestly, it wasn't easy – I had to make sure it's placed in the right place and the wallpapers – I didn't to the physical labor if you're wondering, I have elves to do that – then I -'

'Okay, we get it,' interrupted Ron irritably. 'So let's go back to the serious conversation -' Daphne huffed at him, '- so Nott, have you got any picture of Pettigrew?'

'No, not yet,' answered Theodore, leaning back against the sofa. 'But I haven't tried searching the newspaper archives. They might've printed his picture at least.'

'Right, I'll check that too in the library,' said Ron thoughtfully.

Daphne frowned at Ron. 'Why do you need to see his picture anyway? What can that do?'

Ron fell silent first before answering her question. 'I have a theory. If the Pettigrew I saw in my vision is the same wizard as the one who was said to be killed by Black -'

'But that's impossible,' said Daphne. 'Pettigrew died in the hands of Black who's currently somewhere right now. Not to mention, he used to be friends with him and our new Defense Professor. While I agree that there is something going on, I just don't think that your theory that Pettigrew is actually alive is any true. I mean, why would he fake his death in the first place?'

'A lot of reasons,' shrugged Theodore.

Daphne shook her head but giving the two boys a steady look. 'Speaking of our new professor, I asked some people inside the Ministry – discreetly, of course – about they can give me about him and I believe you might want to know.'

Both Ron and Theodore looked at her, waiting. 'Well? What is it?'

'Our professor is a werewolf.'

* * *

><p><em><strong>And this is where I end this chapter!<strong>_

_**I think some of you might think they found out faster than the Golden trio but Ron, Theodore and Daphne took the first few steps and they have the resources to get what they wanted to know. **_

_**They still have no idea who Peter is yet but they will in the next two chapters. Sometimes, I take things too fast so I will have to slow things down a bit. I think I'll give Luna a bit more spotlight and also Astoria. And yes, I'll find a way to give more Ron/Hermione. The next chapter will cover Flight of the Fat Lady and Grim Defeat. And possibly a portion of the Marauder's Map. For those who are wondering, this chapter covers the Dementor, Talons and Tea Leaves, and The Boggart in the Wardrobe. **_

_**I think Ron should praise Daphne and her 'hard work' to brighten the secret meeting room.**_


	17. Chapter 16

Ron couldn't believe what he just heard. 'What? A werewolf?' he repeated, disbelief etched on his face. 'That's ridiculous. How can Lupin be a werewolf? He's a wizard and werewolves aren't allowed to attend any magical institution as far as everyone is concerned -'

'And right now, you sound exactly like us,' said Theodore and he had a small smirk playing on his lips.

'Even a non-Slytherin will have the same thoughts,' he retorted before facing Daphne again. 'You must've gotten it wrong -'

'The information I got from my resources isn't wrong,' said Daphne icily, her eyes narrowing. 'Obviously, you're in denial. You've become fond of that beast. And you've said just now, werewolves don't have rights to carry and own a wand, or even teach magic to students like us -' she saw Ron was about to contradict her so she continued, 'Don't deny it. You're just like the rest. You've been fooled by his so-called kindness and outer personality when it fact he could be up to something.'

'And what are you getting on?' questioned Ron.

'That he might be in cahoots with Black,' she said bluntly. 'That he might be the person who got Black out and now he's here at Hogwarts planning with his mate something sinister. In my opinion, it's no coincidence that he's here and Black's on the loose. It makes perfect sense.'

'She has a point, Weasley,' spoke Theodore. 'Considering the circumstances we are seeing and hearing right now and for the past few months, it's possible that it's a well-thought plan between the two to get in here at Hogwarts. That explains why the Ministry sent some Dementors to guard here. Also, before this happened, you've already had a vision of Lupin with Black.'

Ron shook his head. He stood up and began pacing back and forth inside the room. 'You two have a point, I agree – it's more than a coincidence Lupin's here and Black escaped Azkaban, but -' he stopped and gave the two a steady look, '- who is the Peter they were talking to in the vision I had? And if Lupin and Black are in the same league, what are they planning? What's their goal? We still haven't got enough information and whatever we may assume right now may not be true.'

'But if your information about Lupin is true, Greengrass,' he continued. 'then we have to be careful around him from now on. Werewolves can't be trusted. He can't be trusted,' said Ron finally.

'Yes, that is the best course of action we can do at the moment,' agreed Theodore, standing up from his seat. 'We ought to leave this room, the others might be wondering where we are -'

'Except for me,' inserted Ron.

'Oh I have to go now!' gasped Daphne as she stood up frantically. 'I have to talk with Pansy and the others about the incoming Hogsmeade trip!'

'Why are you planning for it? The prefects haven't announced when the first day would be,' said Ron irritably.

Daphne rolled her eyes at him. 'It's very important to plan a trip. And besides, your older brother – what's his name again? Patrick -?'

'It's Percy,' corrected Ron.

'- right, he's Head boy and since you're his younger brother, you can do me a little favour and ask him when the first day is,' said Daphne sweetly, batting her eyes at him. 'Come on, I gave you some information about Lupin, what I'm asking you is the least you can do for me -'

'You've got to be kidding me,' scowled Ron at her.

'Don't make me hex you, Ronald,' said Daphne steely while smiling at him. 'I'll see you two later.' She turned her heels and walked through the mirror, leaving the two inside.

'She's going to be the death of me,' said Ron, frowning.

'Glad I'm not in your shoes,' shrugged Theodore as he went to the mirror.

He didn't imagine he'd done it but he did approach Percy one day during lunchtime and asked him when the first Hogsmeade visit would be. 'On Halloween, Ron,' answered the older brother. 'We're about to post it to all of the House's common rooms in three days – don't tell anyone I've told you, they might think I'm favouring my siblings when in fact I have to treat everyone equally -'

'Oh, thanks,' nodded Ron before leaving him. He returned to the Slytherin table, hoping he'll be able to tell Daphne the date so he wouldn't have to deal with it any longer. So right after their Transfiguration class, Ron gestured Daphne stay behind so he could talk to her. After he told her, he decided to go to the library and do some research about Peter Pettigrew. He went to the newspaper archives section and continued where he stopped.

It was a tedious task. He had gone through three months of subscriptions of the year 1980 and he was currently in the month of June, skimming over each and every nook of it until he grew tired. It was also hard because he read some issues; one newspaper printed the deaths of his uncles Gideon and Fabian Prewett, his mother's older siblings. He hadn't met them and he hardly remembered the two but it was hard nevertheless. Their deaths were brutal and he wished after reading them that they would have survived the fight. As he worked, he didn't realize someone was standing behind him, watching.

'What are you looking?' asked the person whom Ron recognized the voice from the tone. Standing before him was Luna who looked as if she accidentally dropped by his table.

'Er,' paused Ron, unsure what to say. 'I'm looking for a wizard, now if you will excuse me -'

'I can help you,' she offered, surprising him.

'You don't need to, Gin might think I'm forcing you anyway -' declined Ron but he was cut across by her.

'I'm sure Ginny won't mind,' she said dreamily. 'And I wanted to return a favour,' she added.

'What favour? I didn't -' he said confusingly.

'You helped me get my shoes from the chandelier last year,' she said to him. 'You're the only one who did that for me throughout the whole year.'

Ron felt as though something got stuck inside his throat. He didn't know what to say. 'I – you don't need to do that,' he insisted. 'I only did what I thought is right anyway -'

'And your action means a lot,' she said simply. 'I can help you look whatever you are looking for,' she said again.

Ron stared at her in disbelief. _Should I accept her help? She's the one offering, anyway. _After what seemed to be a long time, he snapped out from his thoughts and said to her finally, 'Alright, you can help me.'

Luna sat down in beside him and her gaze fell on him. 'What are you looking for?'

'I'm…looking for a wizard who's dead for twelve years,' said Ron slowly, choosing his words. 'His name is Peter Pettigrew. This is for a History of Magic project if you're wondering,' he said in addition. 'So I'm looking for any information about him through the newspaper archives.'

'I'll help you,' she said without question, sitting down opposite of him and picked up a newspaper.

Ron couldn't believe what he was seeing but shook his head. The two simply read each newspaper they grabbed until it was almost dinnertime. He put down the newspaper of June 19, 1980 issue and said to her, 'It's almost dinner time, we should stop for a moment.' He returned the newspapers back in the rack and added, 'Thanks for helping.'

'It's no problem,' said Luna as if not herself (or herself at all, thought Ron). Before she left him, she said, 'Sometimes, it's good to have company rather than push them away. Being alone isn't always good for someone like you.' She turned away, not seeing his bewildered look and walked out of the library.

Ron stared at her. 'But I'm not,' he said, frowning.

* * *

><p>Things took a different turn few days after as Halloween become closer. All Quidditch teams practiced hard, booking the pitch every now and then, signalling the Quidditch games in November. Sometimes, one of the teams, particularly Slytherin, booked the pitch more so that the others won't be able to practice. Although it seemed like a dirty tactic, Ron thought it was a good strategy.<p>

Ron became very irritated with Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, who seemed to have some kind of vendetta against him. He was able to find his pet rat Scabbers somewhere in the ground floor near a portrait of a fruit bowl and entering inside the Great Hall, he saw the orange menace streaking right at him and jumped, tackling his face and clawing at him with his claws. Ron couldn't react quickly and yelped, trying hard to remove the cat from him. 'Granger!' he hollered in anger. 'Get this stupid cat of yours away from me!'

He heard a rush of footsteps approaching him and other than Hermione, McGonagall and Flitwick came to help him. After what seemed to be an hour, Crookshanks was finally removed and Ron got up to his feet again. He checked his pockets to find Scabbers but he realized his rat was gone again the moment the cat landed on his face.

'You better ought to put that orange furball in a cage or in a pit hole,' growled Ron at Hermione who stared at him in shock.

'How can you say that?' said Hermione, her voice rising as she held on Crookshanks tenderly. 'He didn't do anything wrong to you -'

'Because that pet of yours is mental, that's why,' said Ron. 'This is the second time he's done that to me and I swear if he does that again, I'm not going to hesitate hexing him.'

'That's enough you two,' said McGonagall sternly before Hermione could say anything else. 'Run along now. And you Mr. Weasley, you should go to the Hospital Wing to get yourself checked.'

Both Ron and Hermione glared at each other before parting from each other. Ron felt his ears burning as everyone inside the Great Hall watched (and Hermione, he thought) in mild interest. He was quite embarrassed with what happened and he couldn't help but become angry to Hermione who bought the cat in the first place. He followed McGonagall's orders and went to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey didn't seem surprise with his presence. She patched him up in a few seconds and let him go, giving him a beady look that said I-don't-want-to-see-you-again-here before he was out of sight.

Unluckily enough, he still didn't get any vision and he wasn't able to find any picture regarding Peter Pettigrew whenever he was done with his homework, spell work research, and among other things. Even with Luna's help, they weren't able to find anything about the wizard although they were more than halfway done with the year 1980. When Halloween arrived, Ron had a strange feeling something would happen.

He wrapped his maroon scarf around his neck (he never liked the color but it was better than his Slytherin scarf) before leaving the dormitory. Ron left the castle grounds and lined himself along with the other students who wanted to go to Hogsmeade.

It was like his first time even if he visited the place for the second time. Everything seemed more splendid than the last time and he was so sure he would be able to get what he needed. However, after a couple of hours and when the sun was beginning to set, nothing significant happened. Ron's spirits plummeted somehow but his visit to Hogsmeade was good still. He went back inside the castle, sighing and thinking what he could possibly do to get anything he needed.

Ron found himself at the grounds and the sun's last rays ran out until the sky turn dark. He watched the scenery in pitch black as if he could still see the details when he heard a sound coming from the bushes. He jumped in alarm, whipping his wand at ready and waited. 'Who's there?' he questioned.

The sound of the bushes moving continued until something came out from it and Ron managed to make it out of the details. It was a large shaggy dog. Although it was larger than normal ones, the dog was clearly thinner and his fur was unkempt and long. Ron froze for moment, thinking it was the Grim but when the dog didn't disappear, he let out a sigh. 'You're a real dog,' he said.

The dog didn't respond. He (or she, thought Ron) stared at him unblinkingly and Ron thought he was being appraised from head to toe. Then, the dog took a step forward.

Ron didn't know what to do. He wasn't sure if he would turn around and run off from the animal or stand still and wait for it to come nearer which frightened him to say the least. Following his instincts, he reached out his hand slowly toward the dog's head and when he thought he would get bitten, it didn't so he patted the dog carefully. 'You're quite a nice one, aren't you?' he said to him.

The dog let out a bark, acknowledging his words.

Ron grinned. 'Your welcome.' He continued patting the dog until he asked something. 'Hey, where's your owner? Or do you have one?' When the dog whined a bit, he said, 'Oh, so you don't have one?' It seemed very foolish of him to talk to an animal but he couldn't shake off the feeling the dog could understand him. When he realized it was almost time for the feast, he said finally, 'I got to go to back now – it's almost time for the feast, if I get to see you again here, I'll give you some food.'

The dog barked loudly, his tail wagging. 'Yeah, I promise,' he swore. 'Later.'

Ron turned away and entered inside the castle where everyone was already seated, waiting for the feast. He sat down at the Slytherin table and enjoyed himself, eating the food within his reach. By the time he was gone, he and the rest of the Slytherins stood to leave the Great Hall to return to their dungeons. He was feeling quite sleepy, his eyelids closing once in a while and he couldn't wait to sleep on his bed. But before he and the others get to their beds, Snape appeared by the entrance and said to them, 'All students must return to the Great Hall immediately. Prefects, round up everyone.'

The Slytherins were confused and annoyed. 'Why do we have to go back?' asked one fifth year named Montague.

'Don't ask me, I'm no seer,' said his friend.

They trooped back where they also saw the other Houses returning to their tables with confused expressions on their faces. Dumbledore stood tall in front of them, ushering them to listen. 'I deeply apologize for calling everyone back.' The students listened more closely, especially the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and also the Slytherins. 'The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle. I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you have to spend the night here.'

Some of the Slytherins stared at him in indignation, not wanting to sleep in the Great Hall with the other Houses. 'I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge.' Ron could tell even without looking, Percy puffed out his chest and glanced around importantly, 'Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately. Send word with one of the ghosts.' Percy nodded quickly and hastily walked away to do his duty. Dumbledore watched everyone as he was about to leave and said finally, 'Oh, yes, you'll be needing…' One wave of his wand and the long tables flew to the side and stood against the walls; another one and the floor was covered with numerous squashy purple sleeping bags.

'Sleep well,' he said to everyone before he left.

The moment he left, everyone began talking amongst each other, asking back and forth what happened when the Gryffindors began telling their fellow Houses what happened. Ron approached his siblings and asked them. 'What really happened?'

'Sirius Black tried to enter our common room,' said George to him.

'Slashed the entrance with a knife,' continued Fred. 'Peeves saw it happened.'

Ron looked as if he was gobsmacked across the face. 'Bl-Black tried to enter your common room?' he said in disbelief.

'Yeah,' nodded Ginny. 'We couldn't enter because the entrance is closed so that's why we're all here.'

'I see. Well, we can continue talking about -' said Ron when Percy's magnified voice echoed across the Great Hall.

'Everyone into their sleeping bags!' shouted Percy to everyone. 'Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!'

The other Weasley siblings grimaced at their older brother. 'What a spoiler,' Fred shook his head. 'Later, Ron.'

As all of the students took a sleeping bag, Ron picked up one from the floor and dragged it with him to the Slytherin area. Everyone still couldn't stop talking about what happened. Ron kicked off his shoes (they were still in their day clothes) and slid inside his sleeping bag. The lights began to shut down and the students fell silent one by one until no one spoke a word.

Drowsiness was beginning to take over Ron when Theodore's voice whispered to his right. 'What do you think?'

Ron looked to his right and realized Theodore was beside him. 'I'm not sure,' he said lowly. 'He managed to get in during the feast without being noticed.' After a moment, he asked, 'Why does Black want to go here at Hogwarts, anyway?'

'He might be looking for someone or something,' Daphne's voice said suddenly to Ron's left. 'He could be since he did it while everyone's in the Great Hall.'

'And why are you beside me? I thought you don't want to be seen -' said Ron, frowning.

'They can't see me, it's already dark,' said Daphne.

Ron sighed. 'That's more work for us. We're going to keep on searching, then.' He said, thinking about Black. He didn't hear their responses (he thought they didn't respond anyway) and closed his eyes to sleep.

* * *

><p>Sirius Black's break-in continued to be talked about after Halloween. The Gryffindors were able to return to their tower with a new guardian (the other Houses wanted to know which portrait they used but they didn't get any hint) and everything went back to normal, almost. Quidditch season was around the corner and despite the news about Black, the students were hyped with the first incoming match which was Gryffindor versus Slytherin.<p>

But the closer the day of the match, the weather turned from awful to terrible. The clear blue sky was now dark and grey with clouds and thunderstorms. The rain poured heavy and hard and hardly anyone ventured out. Ron thought it was ridiculous to play in this kind of weather but he knew that in professional Quidditch, any weather was acceptable.

Ron, as well as Theodore and mostly especially Daphne, opted not to watch the game due the horrible weather. 'I will not watch and just get myself wet,' said Daphne defiantly. 'My hair might get ruined and I'm not going to risk that -'

'Nobody asked your opinion,' Ron rolled his eyes as he watched the students marched out of the castle grounds and head their way to the Quidditch pitch.

'And why aren't you going with them?' questioned Daphne. 'You Weasleys are very much crazy on that game -'

'I don't feel like watching it, isn't that enough reason not to go?' scowled Ron.

'How about you?' she asked Theodore whose attention was on a read he was reading.

'Slytherin isn't playing, what's the point of watching?' he drawled before turning a page. The three of them sat not so close with each other at the Slytherin table. Most of the students were out of the grounds to watch the Quidditch match despite the weather, most especially from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.

'I'm leaving,' said Ron, standing up.

'Right,' said the two without care.

Ron shook his head as he left the Great Hall. He was clearly bored with the way things were going. He and the other two still didn't have any idea what they should be doing next. Although they were more careful around Lupin ever since they knew his secret, they were still out of the loop. His theory about Peter Pettigrew being alive wasn't proven still, Black's motive was still unknown, and the association between him and Lupin was still being speculated. He wished he could at least get more clues but he knew it was going to be hard.

His thoughts filled him so much he didn't realize someone was walking in front of him. He bumped into the person and stumbled back a bit.

'Oh I'm sorry,' said the person, her voice soft-spoken.

Ron glanced down and blinked. Before him was no other than Daphne's younger sister. He couldn't exactly remember her name and merely settled on naming her Little Greengrass in his mind. 'Er you don't need to, I didn't see you walking,' he said gruffly, expecting the girl's personality to be similar with her older sister.

The younger Greengrass flushed and looked away, abashed.

'Look, I didn't mean to be rude,' he said hastily, noticing the awkward atmosphere. 'It's just that -'

'I'm Daphne's younger sister,' she continued, her voice low. She tilted her head a bit higher and Ron could see her face better. He already expected her to be not similar with her sister in terms of appearances; Her hair was darker than he imagined, her eyebrows were less arched than Daphne's, her lips fuller, and her skin tone rosier. 'A lot of people think the same.'

Ron could detect the tiredness in her voice and the feeling of empathy rose inside him; he knew too well the feeling of being in someone else's shadow and trying their best to stand out. 'Don't mind what others think,' he said without thinking. 'It doesn't matter what they think as long as you're doing well on your own.'

The first year looked startled at his words. 'Are you sure?'

'Of course,' he said after realizing he couldn't take his words back. 'You're going to end up living a sad life if you keep trying to reach other people's expectations.'

'How about you? Are you doing what you want to do? Is that why you ended up in Slytherin?' she asked.

'I -' he stopped for a moment, thinking. 'I got sorted here in Slytherin not because I wanted to stand out,' he said slowly. 'I just did. And besides, it's just a House,' he said with a hint of denial. Inside him, he very much wanted to be resorted and be in another House other than Slytherin. 'But that's not the point. It's up to you what you want to do with your life, not the others. But you don't need to follow what I've said.'

'I think it's a good advice,' she said to him. 'It's nice to converse with you. And I apologize in behalf of my older sister if she's giving you a hard time -'

'- what did you just say?' Ron stared at her in incredulity.

The younger Greengrass suppressed a smile. 'I saw your letter when it arrived to our home few months ago – don't worry, I didn't open it if you're wondering,' she said to him before turning around.

'Oh – thanks,' he said, relieved she didn't read the letter. He steered himself away and went to the Slytherin dungeons to spend time by sleeping. He didn't foresee something dreadful happened at the match as he slept, only thinking of the issues he needed to solve before the year ends. But as soon as he woke up, he finally heard what happened, most especially about Harry's fall. He couldn't believe something that terrible happened but it was true as almost every student who watched the game recounted the scene.

'It could've been worse,' said Ginny, somewhat shaken from what happened as she told Ron in detail when they met up three days after.

'Yeah, but still,' he said, frowning. 'You could've been hurt by them.'

'Everyone could've been hurt by them,' she corrected him. 'I'm not just the only person there, Ron.'

_It didn't matter to me as long as the whole family's safe,_ thought Ron to himself. 'Oh right, sorry,' he apologized, making his face sincere. 'So, how's Potter faring? I heard I what happened to his broom -'

Ginny's cheeks reddened slightly but she managed to answer his question. 'I think he's doing well,' she said meekly. 'But I'm sure he's having a hard time deep inside. Anyone who loves Quidditch would feel the same way.'

Ron nodded in agreement. 'Well, he's wealthy enough to buy a new one so he's going to be fine,' he said hastily, feeling the topic being discussed should be stopped.

'So, Luna told me she's helping you with some kind of project,' said Ginny suddenly after none of them spoke for a couple of moments. 'So what's it all about? Is it really schoolwork or are you -?'

'No!' he denied, shaking his head furiously. 'She's the one who offered the help!'

Ginny eyed on him for a moment. Then she let out a laugh. 'I'm just kidding, Ron. Don't be too defensive. I know you're being honest, and Luna's a blunt person.' She looked thoughtful and asked again, 'So about that Greengrass person you've been exchanging letters with? Can I meet her -?'

'Definitely not,' said Ron flatly. 'And besides, I've only sent her a letter once and secondly, she and I aren't friends to begin with,' sighing, he continued, 'You are too nosy for your own good.'

'I'm not!' protested Ginny, smacking Ron's arm. 'I'm just curious -'

'Like bloody hell you are,' he said as he leapt from his seat and avoiding her hits. After he and his sister spent time together, Ron went to the Great Hall to catch up some lunch. As soon as he was done, he took some food like cupcakes, pieces of toast with egg and bacon inside, and kippers and wrapped his carefully in a napkin before leaving the table discreetly. He headed his way to the grounds, to an old oak tree near the Black Lake where he let out a whistle from his lips. Moments later, the same black dog that appeared before Ron the other night came into view. 'There you are,' he said as he knelt down in front of him. 'As I promised, here's some food I got from the Great Hall.'

The dog let out a bark while wagging his tail and chowed down the food Ron brought for him.

'You have a big stomach,' commented Ron, watching the dog in amusement. He never told anyone, not even his siblings or Theodore and Daphne about the animal. He had been giving some food to the dog a couple of times whenever he had time. And he told a number of things as he took his time with him.

The dog growled a bit, seemingly offended with his remark before continuing to eat his food. Ron chuckled. 'Alright, I'm sorry. You know, if only I know where the kitchens are, I could've given you more food. And myself.'

'You know, if dogs are allowed inside Hogwarts just the same as owls, cats and toads, then I could've claimed that I own you so you can get in,' he mused, patting the dog's head. 'You'd like that, don't you?' hearing him bark in response, he chuckled. 'I'll take that as a yes. But then again, I have to let go of Scabbers – he's my pet rat, though -' he stopped abruptly, seeing the dog's bared teeth. 'Did I say something bad?'

The dog still growled, baring his yellowish long teeth.

'Okay, I'm not going to mention my rat again if that's what you want. Anyway, I couldn't find him, I think he's hiding away from me -' muttered Ron under his breath, thinking about his pet rat. He stayed with the dog for a couple of more minutes until he decided to leave. 'I have to go now, until next time,' he was about to say more when snow began falling from the sky. He watched the sky in silence, admiring the simplicity before he continued. 'You should go and stay somewhere warm. You might die freezing.'

The black dog barked in approval, wagging its tail again.

'I'll still bring you food, don't worry,' He stretched out his arms, yawning. Ron was in higher spirits when he saw Crookshanks skulking in one corner. He shot a glare at the feline, fingering his wand from inside his robes and tempted to hex him to learn a lesson or two. 'You know, it's your fault why I couldn't find Scabbers.'

Just when he was about to do the deed, Hermione's voice rang at the end of the corridor. 'Crookshanks! Where are you?' She then appeared and spotted her pet few feet away and said, 'Come here, you. I've been looking all over.' She carried Crookshanks in her arms and looked up to see Ron in mild surprise. 'Oh, it's you Weasley. What are you doing standing there?'

'Nothing,' he said casually. _Well, I was about to hex your cat but I'm not going to tell you that, am I?_

Hermione looked as if she was about to accept his answer when a thought came across her. Her eyes narrowed at him. 'You weren't about to hurt my Crookshanks, were you?'

Ron had a mild look of surprise on his face. _She's quick._ 'Of course not, why am I going to do that?' he lied easily, wearing a convincing hurtful expression. 'I can't believe you'd think of me that way, Granger. I may not like that cat of yours trying to eat my rat but I'm not that heartless.'

'I just hope you are as you say, but if you are planning on hexing or cursing Crookshanks, I swear you're going to regret it,' she said resolutely before leaving him.

'I'll keep that mind,' he said to her coolly but he had a feeling she was the type of person who followed through her words with conviction. Ron let out a sigh, shaking his head. He returned to the Slytherin dungeons where he saw Draco with his other arm no longer bandaged and now fully healed, surrounded with his circle of friends. He scowled. 'It would've been better if his arm stayed in bandages,' he muttered.

'I don't think it's nice to wish ill to others,' said a familiar voice behind Ron. As he turned around, he realized the one who spoke was Astoria.

'You shouldn't be talking behind someone, you know,' he said to her. 'and don't eavesdrop too.'

Astoria gave him a look. 'I wasn't eavesdropping. You were talking to yourself and I just happened to hear you.'

He was about to say something when he heard Draco talking loudly about him to Daphne. 'You shouldn't let your little sister talk to rubbish like Weasley. She might get infected with his disgrace.'

Ron's ears reddened while Astoria shifted uncomfortably at the mention. 'Oh aren't you such a caring person, Draco,' cooed Daphne to him, earning a glare from Pansy. 'I'll talk to Astoria so don't be bothered too much. For a moment I thought you're jealous of Ronald talking to her -'

'As if, she's hardly worth looking at,' sneered Pansy, earning a number of nods from the others. 'No offense Daphne, but she doesn't look like you at all.'

Daphne smiled at her but Ron knew it was cold. 'None taken, Pansy.' She stood up from her seat and approached Ron and Astoria. 'Now Astoria, as a Greengrass, you ought to know who you should be talking – we can't lose face and it's important. Is that clear?' she faced Ron and said, 'Ronald, I know my younger sister is quite adorable but I don't think it's appropriate. So I do hope you understand,' she gave him and her younger sister a small wink and flounced back to the others.

Astoria turned meekly to Ron and muttered a couple of words he couldn't understand before retreating to her dormitory. Ron turned to glare at Draco and said to spite him and the others more, 'Malfoy, I agree with Greengrass, you might be actually jealous of me because I'm talking to her.'

Draco looked stricken while Pansy looked ready to kill. Ron left the common room and entered the dormitory to start doing his Herbology homework he needed to finish when he saw a letter poking out slightly under his pillow. Curious, he grabbed it and checked the back to see who left him. There was no name. He opened it and took out a piece of parchment where he saw Theodore's narrow handwriting on it.

_Weasley,_

_I found a picture of Pettigrew from some witch who was in the same year as him and the others. _

_From, _

_Theodore Nott_

Ron's eyes widened. 'This is it,' he breathed, his hands shaking. He took out a small photo from the letter and turned it to see. The moment he laid his eyes on it, his world came crashing down.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Pacing, pacing, pacing. Oh my what, are we going to do?<strong>_

_**Okay, so he found out in the end of the chapter. So what is he going to do? I think it's an easy question to answer. And I've made an introduction to Astoria and more so on Luna. In the next chapter, Remus will have more spotlight and the trio will find out more about the past. Well, if I managed it right anyway.**_

_**Oh I think Ron wouldn't know that Sirius Black is the black dog he's been feeding for the past few weeks. Speaking of weeks, the timeline of this chapter ended around early November. It's where the Quidditch season always starts. But things will be quicker so after a couple of scenes it'll be December up to January or February I think. The chapters that will be covered next will be the remaining Marauder's Map, The Firebolt, and possibly half of The Patronus.**_

_**Do you think Ron should learn the Patronus charm? I think it's a bit too early for him. I also think Draco's very mean and rude to Astoria because firstly she's only a first year and she's not that pretty. To him anyway.**_


	18. Chapter 17

It had been days since Ron opened the letter Theodore had sent him. His theory about Peter he had seen in his vision before and the Peter who died twelve years ago was the same person was proven. Then a new speculation formed which he had to prove it once again. It was about Daphne's comment about Scabbers. This was caused by the recent lesson he and the third years were having at Transfiguration. Animagus transformations.

The very thought of his pet rat being an actual wizard and was hiding as animal irked him and he hoped very much that he was wrong. 'We're going to have to find Scabbers,' he said to Theodore and Daphne one evening at the meeting room. He had told them what he thought and the two didn't question his assumptions.

Daphne watched the two with her head resting on her open palms. 'So how are we going to find him? We can't just do it manually. We're in a huge castle, if you noticed.'

'We use the Summoning Charm, of course,' said Theodore matter-of-factly, leaning back against the sofa.

'But we're not learning that until next year,' she pointed out.

'That doesn't stop Weasley and I to learn hexes,' he said shortly. 'And besides, you're the best one out of the three of us who is great at Charms. You ought to learn it first then tell us how it's supposed to be done.'

'Isn't that double-standard?' said Ron, frowning.

'Not really,' said the blonde girl thoughtfully. 'It'll make things easier for me since I tend to lose sight of my belongings – I can find them easier if I learn the spell. I can just teach you a bit so that when you learn, you don't need my help anymore.'

Ron shook his head at her analogy. 'Just learn the spell.'

'But,' said Theodore, catching the two's attention. 'there are two questions we need to answer: if Pettigrew is an Animagus, does Black and Lupin know? Also, if Weasley's speculation about his pet rat is correct, does he know your secret as much as we do?'

Ron fell silent, thinking about his words. 'For your second question, it's hard to tell but let's just assume he does know about it if and only if he is an Animagus,' he said as he felt his hands shaking slightly while saying it. 'We're just going to find the answer ourselves, and we all know who can give us to some of our questions.' He said with a smirk.

* * *

><p>It was Monday again and the Slytherins would be having Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ron decided to take the chance to talk with the werewolf and get some bit of information out of him without being too suspicious. But the moment he entered, Snape's presence greeted him instead. 'Sit down, Mr. Weasley,' he said to him without looking up.<p>

Ron blinked before nodding mutely, taking a seat at the middle right row. Other students soon entered and Ron could tell the Ravenclaws were surprised to see Snape inside. As for the Slytherins, they were gleeful, most especially Draco Malfoy.

'Your Defense professor is unavailable to teach,' sneered Snape, his lips curling. 'therefore I was tasked by the Headmaster to take over until he is better. Now I –' he began lecturing and Ron noticed his demeanor was slightly different from his usual persona while teaching. Ron figured it was because he was temporarily teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts (he heard since first year that Snape really wanted the job). When it was over, Ron dared himself to approach Snape. 'Er professor,' he said slowly.

'What is it, Mr. Weasley?' said Snape, still not looking at him.

'Where exactly is Professor Lu -?' he asked although he had a feeling his thoughts were right.

'He is sick,' sneered Snape, surprising Ron with his sudden contempt in his voice. 'What is it do you want to ask from him? I can answer -'

'No, no,' said Ron hastily, mentally kicking himself. 'I'll just go, sir -'

'You should be careful when you're around him, Mr. Weasley,' hissed the Potions Master. 'Not everyone can be trustworthy.' He flicked his wand and the door swung open. 'Now off to your next class.'

Ron nodded without hesitation and left the classroom. 'Bloody hell,' he muttered to himself. He had completely forgotten that today was a full moon and it was obvious that Lupin wouldn't be able to teach in his state for the second time. He passed by Harry, Neville and Hermione which Ron noticed were quite upset, most especially Harry.

Harry caught Ron and asked, 'Hey Weasley, do you know why Snape's taking over Lupin's class again?'

Ron paused. 'I only know what you know,' he lied smoothly. 'Why? You don't like him teaching?'

'You can say that,' said Harry under his breath but Ron heard him. 'Well, thanks for telling me.' He strode away to his class with Hermione and Neville in his wake.

Ron continued his way to his next class and entered inside Muggle Studies when he noticed something strange. Or he thought it was. Already inside the classroom was Hermione, sitting in her usual seat and reading a book. Ron racked his brains. _Didn't I see her with Potter and Longbottom earlier to go outside? Or am I mistaking something?_ He didn't dwell on this when other students milled in and classes began. He focused his attention on the lesson and wrote down notes.

'What are you thinking?' questioned Daphne curiously as she and Ron walked almost side by side right after the class was over.

'Nothing,' said Ron, pushing that particular thought behind his mind.

She scoffed. 'I doubt it.'

'Alright,' he said, rolling his eyes and facing her. 'I'm just thinking why a Muggleborn like Granger took Muggle studies when in fact she's from a Muggle family herself. It doesn't make sense, is all.'

'And you've just thought of that now?' she said with an appraising look. 'You should've thought of that since the beginning of the school year.'

Ron opened his mouth to retort but stopped himself. 'Never mind,' he said gruffly, quickening his pace and leaving her behind. He had other things to think about and he shouldn't be distracted with trivial events.

Days passed by and the next Hogsmeade visit was already announced. Ron was asked by Ginny to at least buy her some sugar quills and licorice wands. Since he thought he should relax a bit, he agreed and went to the wizarding village by himself again but somehow before he could go out of the school grounds, he saw an opportunity he wouldn't miss; he just saw Lupin striding from one corner which Ron knew the way to his office. He steered his way and carefully approached the office, thinking what he could use as a reason.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Ron backed away in surprise. Lupin stood in front of him and saw the young redhead with a slightly curious yet inquiring expression on his face. 'Mr. Weasley, what brings you to my office?' he asked lightly.

'I – I just wanted to know how you're feeling,' said Ron breathlessly, surprising himself how sincere he sounded. 'You were absent a week ago, so -'

'Ah yes,' nodded the older man as he stepped aside. 'Come in, it's best if we talk inside rather than stand by the doorway.' Ron entered the office carefully and glanced around, finding himself in awe at his surroundings; the last time he was here, Lockhart was the Defense professor and his office was filled with portraits and photographs of himself which was very painful and nauseating to see. But now since Lupin took the post, the interiors were different. There was a small tank in one corner with a creature he couldn't make out, the walls were bare and not colored lilac, and the shelves were filled with numerous books of different sizes and there were some on the floor, on top of the table, and one near the stove. 'Tea?' he asked.

Ron nodded, watching him. Even if Daphne had told him about Lupin's true nature, he couldn't help but be calm around him, like he could trust him inexplicitly.

'I apologize if this is all I can offer,' said Lupin as he poured tea in a cup from the kettle and giving the young redhead. 'And I do feel very well in case you're wondering. I just got myself a very bad flue last time.'

'That's good to know,' said Ron absently.

'So how was it when Professor Snape took over the class for the second time?' asked Lupin in mild amusement. 'I was told he's -'

'- a bit more strict, yeah,' he agreed. 'But he's alright I guess. He does seem to like teaching Defense more than Potions but I don't know much.' He drank the tea hastily that he didn't realize it was still hot. He choked slightly and made a face, causing the older man to chuckle lightly.

'You should be more careful,' he said to him, flicking his wand which the spilled tea vanished on the table.

'Sorry,' he muttered. _Why is this hard? I just need to make a bit of contact, there might be a chance – _'Sir, what is like at Hogwarts during your time?' he blurted out, wanting to break the awkward silence. He could see the surprised look planted on Lupin's face with his question. 'I mean, I know there's a war going on with You-Know-Who but I'm just wondering -'

'Sure, I'll answer,' he said abruptly, stopping Ron. 'It's almost the same, life at Hogwarts was clearly enjoyable. If you were there, you might think there's no war happening. The students get to enjoy and have normalcy as much as they could have -'

'Did you enjoy yourself back then? What House were you in?' pressed on Ron, wanting more information, daring himself.

Lupin paused for a moment. 'Only the staff and the headmaster know which House I was sorted, and it's in Gryffindor,' Ron nodded because he knew of this information, 'and yes, I enjoyed my life while I was at Hogwarts as a student.'

Ron licked his lips, thinking. Then he said, 'It must be. You must have great friends to say that.' When he saw the pained expression of his face, guilt surged inside him but he shook it off. 'Did I say something wrong? I'm so -' he said in reaction, masking his face with concern and shame.

'It's alright,' said Lupin airily. 'You didn't say anything wrong.' He sipped some tea from his cup and placed it down on the table. 'Other than it's safe inside Hogwarts, I enjoyed it because of my friends. They were, in my opinion, the best one could ask for. We did a lot of things together and all of us treated each other like brothers. We were that close, if you think about it.'

'Do you…?'

Lupin wore a wry smile. 'Two died shortly after the war,' he said shortly. 'And the other one…I can't say much. It's been a long time.' He drank the rest of his tea and said, 'It's best not to dwell in the past.'

Ron nodded. 'Erm, I'm sorry for asking -'

'There's nothing wrong about being curious,' he said to him. 'But we should always keep in mind to exercise it with responsibility.'

'Yes, sir,' he said. He knew his stay inside the office was almost over. Ron glanced around, thinking what he should do before his time was up. 'I should go now,' he said with slight frustration in his voice as he stood up. _I can't believe this. I didn't get anything._

Lupin stood as well. He said, 'If you have any problems, Mr. Weasley, you can just approach me.' Ron thought he said those things because he noticed his tone. Lupin reached out his hand and placed in on Ron's shoulders as to comfort him.

Ron couldn't believe his luck. He then moved his hand as brushed his finger to his hand and there, he felt himself being pulled away. He saw himself back inside the dark, dusty room and saw Lupin, Black and Pettigrew. He glanced around and saw Harry and Hermione standing on each corner, watching the scene. But before he could see the rest, Pettigrew shouted in fear.

'_You don't understand!' he wailed. 'He would have killed me, Sirius!'_

_His words were drowned by Sirius's voice, shrinking him more on the floor. 'THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!' he roared at him, his fists shaking. 'DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOU FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!'_

_Both Black and Lupin stood together, both of their wands raised. 'You've should have realized,' said Lupin with a cold look on his face, 'if Voldemort -' Ron flinched at this, '- didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter.'_

Before Ron could see what would happen next, he was finally back. 'I'm sorry if I overstayed,' he said to him. He opened the door, thanked him for his hospitality and left the office. As he turned to one corner, he quickened his pace until he realized he was running. His heart pounded fast along with the adrenalin he was feeling right now. When he stopped, he panted heavily, trying to catch his breath. Ron was very pleased to have gotten the chance and his luck was turning for the better once again.

But the moment the vision sunk in his mind, he felt nothing but anger. He was angry at the man who everyone thought was a hero but was in fact a traitor who sold out his friends' lives for his own safety. 'I better find Scabbers,' he growled, wishing he was very much wrong. Because if he wasn't, then hell was going to break loose. With that resolve, he worked harder to learn the Summoning spell under Daphne's guidance right after that day.

The month of November was nearing its end with only three days left and the cold temperature increased dramatically, causing more students to stay inside the warm castle (although there were some students who liked to play outside in the snow). Ron strode across the hallway to go to library when he saw Luna walking alone and looking as if she was daydreaming. 'Hello Ron,' she greeted him indistinctly.

'Uh hi Luna,' he said to her.

'It's been a long time since we last met,' she continued. 'It seems to me that you already found what you're looking for.'

Ron felt a stab in his chest. 'Sorry about that,' he said to her and he really meant it. 'I was caught off-guard and I forgot about you, so -'

'It's fine,' she said to him without feeling any hostility towards him. 'At least I helped you at some point.'

'I know, and thanks for that,' he told her. 'I should go now – I have to borrow a book,' he waved at her hastily and skidded off to the library. He found the book, took it and went to Madam Pince's desk and asked to borrow it for a couple of days. The librarian eyed on him suspiciously to see if he was good enough to be given such responsibility before giving him the signal.

He took the book in his hands and left until he finally arrived at the fourth floor. He entered through the mirror and saw Theodore and Daphne waiting for him. 'I got it,' he said, holding out the book and tossing it to Theodore who caught it easily.

'About time, you were taking too long,' he said as he opened the book. He skimmed through the pages until he finally found the page he was looking for. 'Here it is,' he said pointedly. 'This is the spell that turns back any Animagus back from their animal form.'

'How hard to learn is the spell?' questioned Ron, leaning over to get a closer look.

'Very hard by the way it's being written down,' he said without a doubt. 'Which means we're going to master it before the school ends.'

'And how will we know if it works?' asked Daphne with her hands on her hips.

'Simple: we use Scabbers once Weasley gets him,' he said as if it settled the matter. 'Then if it works, then Weasley's theory is right. We're going to question Pettigrew until we get ample information -'

'Yeah that sounds easy and all, but what are we going to do after that?' said Ron sarcastically. 'Of course, we're still suspecting that my pet rat might be an Animagus. And if he really is one, we can't possibly let him know what we're doing to him right after. That's suicide -'

'And that's where Daphne comes in. She's going to wipe Pettigrew's memory after we questioned him,' said Theodore, gesturing the only witch inside the room.

Daphne smiled at him. 'Of course we are. That's my family's forte. Anyway, considering the difficulty of the spell, it will take me a month or two until I get it right,' she said thoughtfully.

'I think we're going a bit overboard,' said Ron, pacing back and forth. 'We're only third years -'

'Age and year doesn't measure the ability of a person,' cut across Theodore. 'And besides, Granger and her cohorts managed to brew Polyjuice Potion last year. I don't think it'll be that difficult for us, but of course it also won't be an easy feat. And you've managed to learn a couple of spells since first year. Learning harder spell work won't make a difference.'

Ron considered his words. 'Alright, you may have a point. But we're going to tread on this carefully – we can't afford to make any mistakes. We're going to find Scabbers - or Peter - before the year ends,' he said with conviction and a hint of anger.

Theodore watched him in mild curiosity. 'For a moment, I thought you hate Pettigrew.'

'With good reason,' he growled, thinking about the man. 'Firstly, if my theory about him is correct, then he pretended to be a pet rat. Secondly, I let him sleep on my bed which is creepy by the way. Thirdly, he's a traitor judging by the vision I got about him from Lupin, and lastly, there's a high possibility he knows my secret. So I have every reason to hate Pettigrew.' He whipped his wand out and pointed it at one vase from the right corner of the room. '_Accio vase!_' The vase shook steadily as it left from the small round table and glided over to his way but halfway through it stopped and fell on the floor, crashing itself into pieces.

'You need to set your emotions aside,' said Daphne to him. 'You have to concentrate on getting the object when you cast the spell.'

'I'll keep that in mind,' said Ron as he approached the broken vase and fixed it with his wand.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long until Christmas break had begun. Hogwarts was more deserted than last year because of Black's break-out. Ron received a letter from his parents, asking him and his siblings if they would like to return to the Burrow and spend Christmas with them. He had thought about it but he had to accomplish his task first. He also had to find his pet rat Scabbers before anything serious might happen.<p>

Theodore and Daphne, along with the rest of the Slytherins in his year, left for the train and Ron was very thankful that he didn't have to put up with any of them. As soon as the room was deserted, Ron made himself comfortable and at the same time practicing the Summoning spell as well as the Reversion spell. Of course, he relaxed and had fun with his siblings – Ginny insisted him to show her where the Slytherin dungeons were located but Ron didn't budge, responding that if he was to do that, she and the others should show him where their place was.

Ron didn't forget to visit the black dog he recently named as Shade (he thought naming a black dog Shadow was common so he chose a similar one) and took care of him until the animal became healthier and stronger.

When Christmas had arrived, Ron spent the whole day with his siblings, enjoying their company when he noticed Harry, Neville and Hermione a couple of feet away from them. 'What's Potter holding?' he wondered out loud.

Twins Fred and George looked over their shoulders and peered closer through narrowed eyes. 'I think it's a broom.' Said Fred with certainty in his voice.

'It is a broom,' nodded George. 'It's – wow, no way!' he yelped, gaping with his mouth wide open.

'What broom?' frowned Ron.

'A Firebolt!' exclaimed Fred this time. 'A real bloody Firebolt!'

'You know what that means?' grinned his other twin widely. 'We're definitely going to win the Quidditch Cup this time!' He and Fred scrambled to their feet and ran over to the three third year Gryffindors.

Ron and Ginny watched them go. Ron noticed Ginny looking longingly at Harry but also at the broom, which surprised him. 'Do you want to -?' he asked.

'I – I rather not,' she said as she turned away, her face flushed.

'Don't tell me you couldn't approach them because you still -' he said without thinking much.

'Shut it, Ron,' she scowled at him, throwing snow balls at his face. Ron could see her ears were reddening and so was her face. He smirked, causing for his sister to throw more snow balls at him. 'Don't you give me that look!' she said hotly, now taking her wand out and pointed it at him threateningly.

'Ah, ah, ah, no hexing Gin,' he tutted as he ducked and threw a snow ball back at her.

The two played with each other instead, with Ron throwing snow balls while Ginny hexed him with every spell she knew so far. After a couple of minutes, they were soon joined by their older twin brothers who wore disgruntled looks on their faces. 'What's with the ugly mug you're wearing now?' asked Ron to them.

'Potter has to give it to McGonagall for inspection,' said Fred with annoyance.

'By Granger's orders,' continued George with a scowl.

'because she thinks it might be jinxed,' added Fred with air quotation marks with his fingers. 'so there's a high possibly the Firebolt might be stripped -'

'What? Strip it down?' gaped Ron before getting hit full in the face by a snow ball courtesy of Ginny. He wiped the snow from his face and stared at the twins in great disbelief. 'That can't be! It's a Firebolt! Stripping it is like – like a crime!'

'I know,' nodded George in agreement.

'But why's it getting stripped in the first place anyway?' piped up Ginny, watching the three.

'Harry says he got it without a note,' said Fred.

'So technically speaking, someone he didn't know gave it to him as a present,' she said. 'I think it makes sense for them to do that -'

'I can't believe you would say that,' said Fred disappointingly to his younger sister.

Ron thought for a moment, his sister's words echoing inside his mind. 'Gin's right,' he said, earning incredulous looks from the others. 'Really, it does. I mean, are you going to use something given to you by a stranger? Of course you're going to check if it's safe. You're pranksters, you know that rule. And from what I can remember, Potter almost got himself thrown in the air by his broom which by the way I think was jinxed by someone.'

The twins fell silent. Then, Fred spoke. 'Alright, you're right. You and Gin.' Sighing, he said, 'I guess we'll just have to wait until they're done checking.'

'Let's just hope it's not jinxed,' said George, earning a nod from his twin.

The four left the grounds and returned inside the castle, the warmth inside embracing them. Ron bid the three and went back to the Slytherin dungeons to practice once again in order to find Peter. He only had six more days before the year ends so he worked twice as much than before.

And he did succeed. He managed to master the Summoning spell the day after.

Right after he had lunch, he went to a corridor on the southwest of castle at the fifth floor. He took out his wand, raised it steadily, and said, '_Accio Scabbers!_' His mind was concentrated on the image, thinking of him from the bald spot on his head, until the smallest detail like the missing forefinger in front.

It seemed very long with him standing with his arm holding his wand out, waiting for the rat to come. Then, he heard a squealing growing louder by the second – Ron reached out with his other hand and the next moment Scabbers the rat was in his hold, struggling and thrashing in frenzy.

'Hullo Scabbers,' he crooned, using all of his willpower not to crush the rat in his hand as his thoughts of Peter entered his mind. 'I've been looking all over for you for the last two months. You made me so worried…' when he could calm the rat down, he raised his wand again and pointed it at the rat. '_Stupefy!_' a flash of red light appeared at the end and the struggling rat was now unconscious. He stowed the rat inside his robes and went down to approach Filch who was very much shocked that a student went to him, asking if he had any spare cages he could use for his pet rat.

Ron, after getting a cage from the caretaker, dumped the rat animagus inside. Then he casted an unbreakable charm on it (he just learned it last month since it was easier than the summoning spell for some reason) and a Notice-Me-Not spell. He placed the cage with the rat under his bed and wrote a quick letter to both Theodore and Daphne without putting his name (he didn't want to risk it and they already knew his handwriting).

As he ate with his siblings during dinnertime, Ginny noticed his expression and asked, 'What's with that smile on your face?'

'Oh nothing,' said Ron to her casually. 'I'm just pleased because I finally found Scabbers, no thanks to a certain pesky orange cat,' he shot an annoyed glare to the direction of Hermione who looked affronted with his remark. _I also have to find out why that stupid animal always attacks me. No sane animal does that._

But he didn't have time to figure out the behavior of the cat. Christmas break was over and the students returned, filling the whole castle once more. Ron had brought out Peter (who's still trapped inside the cage) and placed him inside the meeting room because his squealing and thrashing would catch a lot of people's attention and he didn't want to deal with it (he had to use the Stunning spell against him every time the rat woke up; he couldn't seem to control him unlike before). 'So where's your pet rat?' drawled Theodore as he entered.

'Over there,' said Ron, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder and pointing where Peter was.

'You stunned him?' he said in mild interest, peering at the unconscious rat before him.

'I couldn't calm him down so I had no choice but to do that. You would've done the same anyway,' he said pointedly without care.

'True, but we can always use the Silencing spell,' said Theodore to him. 'It's better to use it that stunning him.'

'You do that since it seems to me that you know the spell,' scowled Ron, not glancing when Daphne came.

'You're all having a ball,' she commented. 'So you caught him?'

Ron merely nodded and gestured her to the rat inside the cage. 'See for yourself.'

Daphne scrunched her nose. 'I'd rather not; I'm sure he smells filthy.'

'Well Weasley, have you mastered the Reversion spell?' questioned Theodore, fingering his wand and watching the rat.

'Nothing much,' said Ron sourly. 'Been testing on the spell on him a couple of times – didn't work, really.' He could tell he was still being hopeful that Scabbers wasn't Peter.

'Doubtful,' said Theodore. 'You just need to put a bit more power on it than usual. We can cast the spell together. It might be more helpful.' He suggested.

'Greengrass, have you learned how to do the Memory Charm?' barked Ron at the blonde girl.

'I haven't tested it on someone,' she told him simply. 'Unless you want me to practice it on you -'

'Just do that on Pettigrew if ever and he and Scabbers are one and the same,' said Ron flatly to her without looking her way. 'It doesn't really matter how much damage we do to him until we got the information we want.' He held onto his wand firmly and nodded towards Theodore. 'Ready?'

'Wait,' said Daphne suddenly, catching the boys' attention. 'How do we know he's giving us the right information? He can lie to us -'

'Got that covered,' said Ron. 'You brought it, Nott?'

Theodore took out a small bottle with clear liquid inside from his robes. 'Here,' he said, showing it to her.

Daphne looked closely at the liquid inside the bottle and let out a huff. 'You should've told me or I wouldn't have asked,' she said to them. She sat down cross-legged on the high chair and added, 'Oh just do what you have to do.'

Ron rolled his eyes at her. 'Come on Nott, let's do this,' he said testily, unlocking the cage and taking out Scabbers from it. He placed in on the floor and stepped back, standing shoulder to shoulder with Theodore. 'On the count of three – two – one -' A flash of blue-white light erupted from the two wands. Peter, in his rat form, looked as if nothing happened, but then another blinding flash of light appeared from him until they saw him change form.

It was a new experience not just to Ron, but also to Theodore and Daphne. They watched him change back to his human form and when the process was over, Ron stepped forward and looked down. Just as he imagined, it was really Peter Pettigrew from the photograph Theodore gave him. Even in human form, Ron could now see the similarities between him and his animagus form and it disgusted him even further. He couldn't believe it. Scabbers was Peter Pettigrew all along.

Peter stirred, his fingers moving slightly. Then he snapped his eyes open and jerked his whole body in panic until he stopped and looked around in confusion. He slowly stared at his hands and to his body in horror and held on his face, shaking (which amused Ron and Theodore at some point). He slowly turned his head and saw Ron, Theodore and Daphne and froze. 'You – I – how -?' he said incoherently, his face getting paler by the second.

Ron gave him a wide, cold malicious grin. 'Hello Peter, it's nice to see you too,' he said, clenching his fist and shaking.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Now what will happen in the next chapter?<strong>_

_**The timeline at the end of this chapter is around early to mid-January. They still have around four (4) months and a couple of days more to go before the climax of book three (3) happen. **_

_**Four more chapters to go! I think. Possibly, argh. I'm counting how each chapter covers certain chapters in the book. The next chapter will most likely cover the Patronus, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, and hopefully Snape's Grudge. Sorry if there is a lack of Ron/Hermione in this chapter. That's not exactly a priority in this chapter. But in the next one, yes.**_

_**Hopefully, I'll be able to post another chapter before this month ends. If you noticed, I posts two chapters a month. Yeah, it sucks but I do have other things to deal with. Sorry.**_


	19. Chapter 18

Ron, although still angry, thought it was quite funny watching the man's expression change but he had other things to settle first. "So, how are you feeling? I didn't hurt you too badly when you're a rat, did I?" he asked him in mock concern.

"How did you know –?" squeaked Peter as he gazed at him, Theodore and Daphne and the door behind in turn.

_His voice really sounds like a rat_, he thought. "We have our ways." he said coolly. "Anyway, you have no right to question because we're going to be doing that –" Suddenly, Peter lunged forward with his hand outstretched to the wand in his hand. Theodore and Daphne quickly saw this and threw Stunning spells to his direction. Ron retreated and kicked the man out of reflex; Peter's attempt greatly reminded him of what Lockhart tried to do last school year.

"He almost got your wand." said Theodore, his wand still at ready.

"Like I'm going to give him a chance," snarled Ron. "_Incarcerous!_" Ropes sprang from the end of his wand and wrapped themselves around Peter's unconscious body tightly. "Wake him up."

"Sure," shrugged the other boy. "_Aguamenti._" A blast of water erupted from his wand, hitting directly at Peter's face.

Peter's eyes snapped open the moment the water hit his face. He squirmed, spluttering and choking. "You're drowning him," said Daphne pointedly from where she sat. "and dry the carpet, I don't want it ruined."

Theodore released the spell and lowered his wand. "He's awake now." he said shortly.

"Don't you know a different spell that you can use?" questioned Ron, raising his eyebrows at him.

"I do know the spell," he said to him. "but I haven't practiced it yet."

Ron bit back a laugh at his response. Shaking his head, he faced Peter again and said, "Before you rudely interrupted me, all we want you to do is to answer our questions. Simple as that. Do you understand?"

"W-why do -?" stammered Peter, his watery blue eyes widening.

"Just say yes," growled Ron, raising his wand at his face. When Peter jerked his head, he grinned. "Good, you're catching up. So let's start with something easy – are you Peter Pettigrew?"

"N-no –" lied the balding wizard but Ron aimed a Stinging Jinx at him.

"You should tell the truth," he said coolly to him. "Let's try again – are you Peter Pettigrew, the one supposed died twelve years by mass murderer Sirius Black?"

Peter quivered under his harsh gaze. "Y-yes, but with good reason –!" he answered.

"No explanations," interrupted Ron before looking at Theodore. "Should we use Veritaserum on him now?"

"Yes, we shouldn't be wasting time anyway." said Theodore to him, taking out the small bottle. He approached Peter and ordered, "Open your mouth." When the man didn't comply, Theodore used a Cutting Hex directly at his left leg. Peter let out a cry and Theodore took the chance to pour three drops of the Truth Potion in his mouth.

Daphne let out a disgusted noise. "Theodore, you shouldn't have done that. You're going to get blood on the carpet other than water!"

Ron thought it was a bit crude but it made the job easier. "Right, let's do this quickly. Does Sirius Black and Remus Lupin know you're an Animagus?"

"Yes," answered Peter automatically, his face not showing any pain from the injury on his left leg.

"Why did you decide to become one in the first place?"

"Because of Remus," he responded. "When James, Sirius and I found out about him being a werewolf, we decided to help him whatever we could do for him. It was during second year James suggested we become Animagi –"

"Wait," said Theodore suddenly. "'We'? Do you mean that you're not just the only one who became an Animagus?"

"Yes," said Peter blankly.

Ron couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Animagi?" he repeated. "But that's bloody complicated and dangerous. How old were you, Potter and Black when you three successfully mastered the transformation?"

"Fifteen," Peter told him. "We managed to master the transformation after the first term of our fifth year."

Theodore let out a low whistle while Daphne leaned closer to listen more.

"And I thought we're extreme," muttered Ron. Shaking his head, he continued with the questioning. "So what are the Animagus forms of Black and Potter?"

"Sirius's Animagus is a black dog while James was a stag," he responded.

"A – a dog, you say?" he repeated, feeling a lump stuck in his throat. The image of Shade entered his mind and he couldn't help but think that the dog he had been taking care of for the past few months was Sirius Black.

"What is it?" asked Daphne, noticing Ron's brief change of expression.

"Nothing," he said to her, pushing that particular thought aside. He didn't see both Theodore and Daphne sharing a glance since he was focused on Peter. "Why did you decide to live as a rat for twelve years?"

"Because I know that Sirius or Remus will hunt me down once they realized what I'd done," said Peter without halt. "but I had no choice. He would've killed me. They didn't see how powerful and terrifying he was. I had to tell him – I don't want to die that time, not even now."

"Who are you talking about?" questioned Daphne this time to Peter.

"The Dark Lord." he answered, silencing the whole room with his answer.

"Are you a Death Eater?" probed Theodore, his gaze boring on the man.

"Yes." answered Peter again.

Ron turned to Theodore and asked curiously, "What's a Death Eater?"

"I guess it's understandable if you don't know, considering that most adults don't want to talk about it," mused the other boy. "A Death Eater is simply a follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. They are those who believe in the Dark Lord's campaign which was to keep all magic for those who have magical blood and destroy Muggleborn wizards and witches who they believe are undeserving to learn magic. They are against other wizards who protect Muggles and Muggleborns alike, thus calling them –"

"Blood-traitors," finished Ron. "So Death Eaters, huh?" Another thought entered his mind and he asked, "How can you tell if someone is a Death Eater?"

"I'm not sure but I've heard that there's a symbol tattooed on one part of their body," answered Theodore shortly. "Do you know the answer?" he questioned Pettigrew.

"The symbol is called the Dark Mark. It is tattooed on left arm of each Death Eater."

Without uttering a single word, Ron knelt down and tore Peter's left sleeve. There, he saw a faint skull-shaped with a snake tattoo embedded on his skin. Just merely looking at it made Ron's skin crawl. Theodore, on the other hand, had an amused look on his face. "So you're the one that I've been hearing about." he said, his words catching both Ron and Daphne's attention.

"What do you mean, Theodore?" asked Daphne, looking expectantly to his way.

"A number of Death Eaters were and still are quite angry with a particular Death Eater who they believed was the main reason why He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had fallen." said Theodore nonchalantly as if talking about the weather. "They thought it was a ploy to defeat him."

Ron gave him a look. "And where did you get that information? You know, I wonder how you get all of this."

Theodore gazed directly at him. "Just to let you know, Weasley, I'm a son of a Death Eater. I get to know these kinds of information because my father and his "friends" have the tendency to reminisce the past during their meetings."

The redhead froze, feeling his insides squirming unpleasantly. "Your father –?"

"Yeah, he's a Death Eater," he said with a non-committal shrug. "Are you disgusted by me now, Weasley?"

"…no," said Ron finally, thinking. "You're not your father and you don't have the Dark Mark on your left arm, unless you want to become one –"

"It's none of your business if I wanted to become a Death Eater or not," he said coolly. "and besides, I don't see a point of becoming one since he's gone for a long time."

"Fair point," agreed Ron, turning his attention back to Peter. But before he could question Peter again, he turned to Theodore once more and added, "Honestly Nott, I'm really disgusted of you but it doesn't matter anyway. You're in this just as much as I do. And Greengrass as well." he told him bluntly.

Theodore smirked. "There's your bluntness."

Ron said, "Ha-ha-ha, very funny." He faced Peter again and continued, "So you're saying the reason why Black escaped Azkaban was because of you? How did he know you're still alive when everyone still thinks you're dead –?"

"He's not capable of answering that," cut across Daphne as she shot a full Body-Bind jinx at the small man. "Anyway, did you get everything you need to know from him?"

"I think so," said Ron slowly. "But we might need to keep him here just in case –"

"What?" cried the blonde girl, standing up giving Ron a disbelieving look. "You can't be serious. If we hand him over to the authorities and tell them everything we heard from him, we can earn awards and more money – you and your family won't be poor anymore and –"

"As much as it sounds very tempting," he said sarcastically. "we are not going to hand him over to the Ministry. Not now."

"What are you thinking?" questioned Theodore, watching the redhead's expression closely.

"I know this sounds mad but I need to know how much of an impact he could give us in the long run," said Ron as he gazed at Peter's blank look. "It's common sense that if we change something, the outcome will be different from what it should be. If handing him over to the Ministry will do little to no contribution, then it's fine. But right now, we have to assume that he's one of the main reasons for what will happen in the future. It took me awhile but really, we can't do anything we please."

Both Theodore and Daphne didn't say anything after his response.

"And besides, I might get another vision out from him," added Ron as an afterthought. "Might as well use him as much as we still have him."

"So what are we going to do with him? Leave him like that?" asked Theodore, gesturing toward Peter.

"That's what I wanted to know," said Daphne haughtily, her hands on her hips. "He might turn back into a rat. And if he manages to run away, we might not be able to capture him for the second time."

Ron thought for a moment. "This might be too much to ask," he said, directing his words to Theodore, "But who cares anyway. Do you know one of the Unforgivable Curses? The Imperius Curse? Can you cast it?" he asked casually.

"Really? You're asking me that?" said Theodore, his tone clearly amused.

"It's the only way I can think of keeping Pettigrew in line without giving us any problems," said Ron matter-of-factly. "You can't deny it. And knowing that you're the son of an actual Death Eater, I'm sure you know how to use the spell."

"True," nodded Theodore.

"Question is," interrupted Daphne. 'Will someone be able to detect it once Theodore casts the curse?'

"Fair point but it's worth the risk," said Ron without care. "Just do it, Nott."

"_Imperio_," uttered Theodore, pointing his wand at Peter's face. Peter's expression turned daze as if having a daydream. "_Diffindo_." he said, moving his wand to the ropes and cutting them off. He and the others watched as Peter turned back into his Animagus form once again and went still.

"What did you order him?" asked Ron curiously as he picked up Peter with his hand and put him back inside the cage.

"Just return as a rat and act like one." he said shortly, stowing his wand inside his robes.

"Great." said Ron. "Let's go." he carried the cage with Peter the rat inside and left the room with Theodore and Daphne behind him. _I'll have to keep Pettigrew away from Lupin as much as possible.__ He might recognize him,_ he thought mentally as he and the other two split up.

* * *

><p>Ron resumed to his usual activities after he, Theodore and Daphne found out about Peter and his secrets. Although he kept an eye on the rat Animagus, he was sure that he wouldn't be going anywhere. The Ravenclaw versus Slytherin game was due in a week and most of the Houses, especially the Ravenclaws, expected and hoped to win. Ron doubted they could win against his House (not that he wanted Slytherin to win but it was obvious). But as much as he tried to concentrate on what he was supposed to do, there were some things that he couldn't help but observe.<p>

The first was about Shade. The more he spent more time, the more he was certain that he was truly Sirius Black in disguise. Every time he would mention his rat Scabbers, the dog would growl and bare his teeth menacingly. And not just that, he was beginning to be suspicious toward Hermione's cat, Crookshanks; he managed to get a glimpse of the cat approaching Shade an hour later he left (he decided to stay back and watch discreetly, hoping to see Shade transform to his human form if his suspicions were right). He didn't have any clue about the relationship between the cat and Shade but he was going to find out anyway.

Another thing he noticed was no other than Crookshanks's owner, Hermione Granger. From what he heard, Hermione was also in Care of Magical Creatures (from Draco and his cronies who were talking about their fellow classmates) and Divination (he got a glimpse of her homework during one of his stays at the library) classes. Ron then realized she took all electives and adding that to the main subjects, she would have to attend two or three classes at the same time which was very much impossible.

"Do you know any kind of magic that makes any wizard or witch to split themselves into two or more?" questioned Ron to Theodore one late evening at the common room.

Theodore gave him a look. "What on earth made you think of that?"

"Just answer the bloody question, Nott." said Ron to him.

"As far as I know, nothing of the sort." he said shortly. "Aren't you supposed to do your homework?"

"I already finished it, git." the redhead replied. Sighing, he left the common room and went to the dormitory to sleep. Unfortunately, Hermione's mysterious ability to attend all of the classes being offered at Hogwarts plagued him in his sleep and the last thing he remembered before he woke up was being cornered with four Hermione's which horrified him to say the least.

"You seem very lost." pointed out Astoria the following morning.

"What do you mean lost? I know I'm in the Great Hall." said Ron sarcastically as he poured some hot chocolate in his mug. Dark circles were visible in under his eyes due to lack of sleep. He grabbed the mug and drank its contents.

Astoria raised an eyebrow at his remark. "I think you're like that because of a girl," she said, causing Ron to splutter and choke in his drink.

Ron jerked his head to face her. "What made you think that's the reason?" he demanded, earning odd looks from the other students. "What? Mind your own business." he snarled at them before returning his attention to Astoria who was now flushed.

"You shouldn't treat people like that," she muttered, her gaze down at the food on her plate.

"Well, it's not your problem how I treat others," he said gruffly. "and that's not the reason, mind you." he added persistently.

"So what's your reason?'"came Daphne's voice.

Ron couldn't help but groan. "Never you mind, Greengrass," he said to her, not giving a glance.

Daphne gave him a look similar to Astoria and sat down in front of him, much to his annoyance. With her were Millicent Bulstrode and Tracey Davis. "Is it about a girl?" she asked nonchalantly, earning an incredulous look from Ron.

"What's with you girls asking the same question?" he said exasperatedly as he stood up.

"You asked him the same question, Astoria?" the older Greengrass said inquiringly to her younger sister.

"Not really," she said quietly, feeling quite unsettled with the attention she's getting from the older students such as her sister's friends and peers. "I just – um, just made a –"

"Considering you two are siblings, it says much." interrupted Ron. He left the Slytherin table without delay, wanting to get away from any female as much as possible. _They just don't understand,_ he thought irritably. _The reason isn't about her, it's –_

"Do watch where you're going," said a familiar voice and Ron looked up to see Hermione just two feet away from her.

"I am," said Ron defensively as his ears turned slightly red. Right now, he felt as if his luck was going downward. Then without thinking, he asked her bluntly, "Are you taking all subjects, Granger?"

Hermione had a surprised look on her face, with her eyes wide as saucers and her mouth slightly open. "What are you saying, Weasley? That's impossible. In order for me to do that, I have to split myself into two or three just to attend some of the classes at the same time –" she said haughtily but there was a trace of panic under her tone.

"That's what I thought," he said. "I heard Malfoy talking about you in Magic Creatures class and some of your fellow Housemates from Divination – just don't ask why I know this, you're really known as a know-it-all to everyone here." he added, interrupting Hermione.

She was speechless but she held a serious expression right after. "Weasley, I don't care if you and the rest of this school think like that about me. And it's none of your business on what classes I'm taking and how many of them. Honestly, sometimes you act like them and it's quite obvious why you're not sorted to Gryffindor like your siblings. You said so yourself, so don't be a hypocrite." and with that, she turned and walked away with his nose up in the air.

Ron scowled at her before walking again. "I'm not being a hypocrite." he muttered in annoyance. And her last words stung him deeply.

* * *

><p>Right after that day, he swore himself not to bother with what was happening about Hermione and her secret. He was very much peeved with her words thrown at him and even looking at her made his blood boil. But his thoughts of her vanished when the next Quidditch game was set in two weeks. Ron heard about Harry's Firebolt being returned to him (it seemed that it was not jinxed) which caused more excitement. A huge number of people wanted to get a glimpse of the broomstick but it seemed that the Gryffindor team wanted to keep it from view in case someone tried to jinx it.<p>

Ron knew that Gryffindor was surely going to win their next game against Ravenclaw; even their opposing team could tell but judging from their looks, but they were not going to give in easily. He knew that his House, Slytherin, would try to torment their rival House although it seemed quite pathetic as he watched Draco Malfoy hurling would-be insults at Harry who didn't seem affected in the least.

But somehow the Malfoy heir wasn't going to give up either. Ron saw him, Goyle and Crabbe huddled together in one corner of the common room two days before the game and Draco's expression was anything but positive.

"Do you know what Malfoy's planning?" whispered Ron to Theodore as they walked a foot apart towards the Quidditch stands.

"No," answered Theodore. "I'm not his babysitter."

"Of course you're not," he said sarcastically. "Anyway, why are you even here – it's not even a Slytherin match."

"I wanted to see how fast the Firebolt is," said the weedy boy with a shrug. "Nothing wrong with that."

He shook his head before turning to another direction, walking far away from him (and Greengrass, if she was there). He sat down at the topmost stands between Slytherin and Ravenclaw and made himself confortable. As he glanced around the pitch, he didn't notice someone sitting beside him until the person spoke. "Nice weather today, isn't it?"

Ron jumped in his seat and looked around wildly. Then he saw Luna. "Lovegoo –" he said.

"You can call me Luna," she said in her usual ethereal voice. "You said my name before."

"Right, Luna." he said slowly. Oddly enough, saying someone else's name other than his siblings felt weird. Thinking about what she said, he didn't realize he called her with her first name. "So," he began, feeling the awkwardness weighing heavily on him.

"The sky is clear," she said, her gaze up in the vast blue sky. "Nothing wrong is going to happen."

He could tell she was referring to the Dementors who came to the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor game last year. "I doubt Dumbledore will let them come for the second time." he said. "And it's going to start."

The game began. Everyone was in awe as Harry flew on his Firebolt. Lee Jordan, the commentator, seemed to be advertising the famous broom instead of doing his job. Ron could barely keep on watching the Gryffindor seeker and it impressed him greatly. But as he watched, he caught a glimpse of three black figures making their way to the Quidditch pitch.

The others noticed it as well and some gasped with one shouting, "They're here! The Dementors!"

Harry, who was still in the air, took out his wand and shot a silvery figure at the three black figures. Ron didn't make out what the spell was but was he realized that the three so-called Dementors were in fact Draco, Crabbe and Goyle, and surprisingly Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch Captain. Then he let out a roar of laughter, earning curious and odd looks from the others sitting close to him. "HAHAHA! THOSE FOUR ARE IDIOTS!"

"I don't understand the humour." said Luna dreamily, her eyes glued on the game.

Ron shook his head, wheezing. "It doesn't matter if you understand it." He watched the game again and in less than a minute, the game was over with Gryffindor winning. "Well, that's it." He said as he stood up.

"It's very short," nodded Luna. "Ron, it's good that you're enjoying yourself. Being depressed and hateful doesn't help much, you know."

When she left, Ron had a gobsmacked expression on his face. "How does she get to know all of it? I didn't spend too much time with her," he muttered incredulously, thinking about the times he and Luna were together at the library.

Finally leaving the stands and inside the castle, he was suddenly being pulled by Daphne all the way to an empty corner of the hall. "What's your problem?" scowled Ron at her.

"What's my problem?" repeated Daphne, giving Ron a you-don't-get-it look. "It's the people you're conversing with! That's my problem!" when she didn't hear or see any reaction from him, she sighed and continued. "Here's a hint for you, Ronald: Loony Lovegood."

Ron stared at her in disbelief. "Loony Lovegood? Her name's –"

"Yes, Loony Lovegood, who else?" she snapped, earning a wince from Ron. "She's not helping you! All of my hard work will go to waste if you hang out with someone like her! Honestly, why can't you use your head once in a while?"

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" he said in annoyance, giving her a hard look. "And I don't hang out with her –"

"Oh yes, you do," she said accusingly. "I've heard from Tracey that she saw you and that Ravenclaw spending time together at the library –"

"She was only helping me –" countered Ron.

"Really? Does she know about your secret?" said Daphne with a beady look on her face.

"Of course not," he hissed. "And don't talk about it here – someone might overhear us –"

"Well, they won't get it," she said with an eye roll. "But that's beside the point; you are not going to talk with her ever again. She's going to give you an awful reputation of hanging out with weirdoes - if you forgotten about it, you're an outcast - and it'll affect me at some point since I'm associating myself to you. I'm not going to let that happen. And no Ronald," she said, cutting across Ron who was about to say something. "I mean it. If you haven't noticed, Draco and the others aren't bothering as much as last year and during our first year."

Ron gaped at her. Thinking about what she said, it was then he realized how true her words were. But he thought of Luna who didn't torment him, thought him as an outcast (but he could tell she was like that as well since she was an oddity), and treated him differently merely because he was a Slytherin. "I didn't ask you to do that," he growled. "You're the one who offered it to me – don't you forget that –"

"I know that pretty well," she cut across him. "But I can make your life worse than it is. Don't mess with me, Ronald."

"You're not going to run my life," said Ron lowly, stepping closer towards her, his eyes narrowed and cold. "You and I perfectly know we're only talking because of my ability and you're just using me to get what you want. So don't you dare tell me who I should be talking to."

Daphne's gaze turned cold as well. "I'll take that as a no. You're going to regret it." she sneered before turning to leave.

For a moment, Ron thought she was bluffing but deep down, he knew very well she meant every word she said. "I'm not going to regret it," he said through gritted teeth. But things didn't end there; during the night as he slept in his bed, he heard a faint crack of the door opening (since first year, he became a light sleeper due to having Draco and his cronies as dorm mates). He slowly moved his hand under his pillow and held his wand securely, waiting.

Soon after, he heard faint creaking on the floor as if someone didn't want to be heard. Ron, who kept his eyes closed, strained his ears to listen more. The creaking became more pronounced as it went closer to his direction but it stopped – silenced weighed in, then –

His bed curtains were slashed the next moment and Ron moved quickly with his wand pointing at the figure. "_Impendimenta!_" he shouted and blue light shot out from his wand, aiming it to the unknown figure.

The person ducked in time, avoiding the spell. Theodore suddenly appeared as he pulled his curtains apart and shot a spell at the intruder who avoided it like earlier.

Ron did the unthinkable; he shouted, "_Lumos Maxima!_" The whole dormitory brightened immediately and the intruder let out a growl. But as he removed the spell, the man was gone.

Soon after, the other students woke up from the ruckus. "What the bloody hell are you thinking, Weasley?" snarled Draco, shooting glares at him. "You just disrupted my sleep."

"Never you mind," snapped Ron at him before facing Theodore. "Did you see his face?" _It's a good thing I heard him entering or I would've been dead. I knew I forgot to put up the wards before I sleep._

"I did." nodded Theodore.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Blaise who sat upright and giving the two suspicious looks.

"It was him, Sirius Black." He said and the whole dormitory fell silent.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry if this is shorter than usual.<strong>_

_**The interrogation scene is somewhat morbid for thirteen year olds doing that but Theodore isn't exactly innocent and so does Ron. Daphne perhaps but it's not like she can do anything. Just to inform you guys: 1. Ron is not an excellent duelist. He only knows to point and shoot spells without technique. He'll learn soon though. 2. Ron and the others will be learning more offensive spells rather than defensive. Ron won't be learning the Patronus Charm yet.  
><strong>_

_**Prolly you don't like Daphne now since she's attacking Luna but it's inevitable, really.**_

_**More things will happen in the next chapter. Re-editing of chapters is still ongoing. By the way, thank you for reading this story. It's not really perfect but thank you for taking time read this.  
><strong>_


	20. Chapter 19

The seventh-year prefects were called and an immediate investigation happened right after when Snape and other professors had been informed. Everyone was in a state of panic and worry; the Slytherins were shocked that Black targeted them this time right after Gryffindor and the fact that he was able to enter their common room when he couldn't get in the House of Lions.

Snape was very much vexed. The moment he heard Black infiltrated Slytherin's territory, his territory, he came in straight forward and demanded the third year students to tell him what happened right after he ordered his prefects to alert the other professors and the headmaster.

Ron and Theodore became instant celebrities that night. Everyone in Slytherin, even Draco even if he didn't show it, wanted to know what happened and Ron couldn't believe the attention he was getting. Theodore, on the other hand, kept his composure and told them with few words. 'And what happened?' asked one first year boy to the redhead, his eyes wide and eager.

'He slashed the bed curtains -' some of the first years gasped, '- and I tried to hex him.'

'Then what's next?' asked another eager second year girl.

'He ducked the spell and Nott appeared, aiming him as well,' he said tersely, the corner of his eyes twitching slightly. _I've been telling this three times already! Give it a rest!_

'But he avoided it, right?'

'Yes,' said Ron forcefully, very much annoyed with what's happening to him now. 'So I used the Amplified Light spell to blind him -'

'What's that?' asked a curious first year girl.

'Research it,' he said to her irritably. 'Anyway, he got away in the end. I have to go.' He stood up, much to the others' displeasure. 'Why don't you give it a rest? I've already told you four times now! Now scram!' The first and second years jumped away and ran off. Sighing, he was able to walk freely until someone aimed a Shoe-Tie jinx at him. He staggered and fell on the ground, earning mild and amused looks from the onlookers.

'You should tie your shoes properly, Ronald,' said Daphne who just passed him by.

Ron glanced and saw a smirk playing in her lips and he knew right away she was the one who did it. The older Greengrass was true to her word; since the day he rejected her words and chose to side with Luna, she had been giving him a hard time at every given chance which was almost every single moment of his life since they were both under the same House.

He got his hair color changed into ugly shade of murky green (he tried to remove it but couldn't so he had no choice but to let it stay until it was gone) and whenever he tried to speak, bubbles would emit from his mouth, thrown with a bunch of Dungbombs by random first years from different Houses (he managed to catch one and demanded to tell him who ordered them but got no answer so he jinxed the first year out of frustration), chased by a horde of Bowtruckles when he walked outside the grounds after being poured with a bucket full of wood lice by an older student (he earned numerous scratches all over his body and was sent to the Hospital Wing by the gamekeeper named Hagrid), and worst was that Peeves joined in the fray after witnessing the number of pranks happening to him (the poltergeist thought it was a fun game and continued making Ron's life horrible even if he was told by the Baron himself). The twins thought it were amusing, so was Ginny, and it caused him to be in a fouler mood.

It took all of Ron's willpower not to hex any student (especially Daphne) whenever he got pranked. He sat cross-legged and tried to undo the tie but it was impossible. Knowing it would wear off in a day or two, he decided to take them off and walked all the way to the Transfiguration classroom in his socks.

'You're late Mr. Weasley,' barked McGonagall who was the first one that noticed him entering.

The other students glanced at him and some snickered after seeing him not wearing socks. 'Hey Weasley, wear some shoes, your feet wreaks,' said Draco spitefully at him.

Without thinking, Ron gave him a rude gesture. The Transfiguration professor saw what he did and said sternly, 'Mr. Weasley, detention.'

The Slytherins, minus Ron, sniggered at his misfortune.

Ron felt his fists shaking in anger but he chose not to say anything and sat down stiffly. From the corner of his right eye, he saw Daphne smirking at his direction. _She's really going to pay,_ he thought mutinously throughout the whole lesson.

But he wasn't going to cave in. Only a week had passed since it started and he wasn't going to lose to her anytime soon. When class was over, Ron stayed behind by McGonagall's order to discuss about his detention. Despite the bad luck he'd been receiving, it was fortunate he was assigned under Remus who was in need of assistance. 'You will go to his office on time, do I make myself clear?' said McGonagall, giving him a beady look.

'Yes, professor,' he said tersely.

'You may go,' she dismissed him, turning her back at him as she prepared for her next class.

Ron quickly left the classroom (he was still walking without his shoes on) and went to his next class which was Herbology. He grimaced at the thought of walking outside the castle and there was a likely chance he would be stepping on a puddle or two. Then his path was crossed with his older twin brothers Fred and George.

'Why are you walking without your shoes?' asked George amusedly, eyeing on Ron's feet.

The younger Weasley held up his tied shoes for them to see.

'Ah the Shoe-Tying Jinx, a classic,' said Fred as he checked it closely. 'And it seems that they added a temporary unbreakable charm. Very nice.'

'Of course,' said Ron sarcastically. 'Only you two find this funny just like the rest of the people here.'

'It is,' said the two.

'So where are you going?' asked Fred this time.

'Herbology,' answered Ron stiffly. 'I have to go – I'll be late again if I stay here longer -'

'And you're going to walk over there like that?' said George doubtfully, raising an eyebrow at him.

Ron took a deep breath to calm himself down and said slowly, 'It's not like I have a choice. And besides, you and the rest of the school can enjoy watching me get humiliated as I should be.'

The twins shifted uncomfortably at his casual remark. 'Let me have that,' said Fred, grabbing Ron's shoes. He used his wand and tapped the shoes while muttering. After that, he handed the shoes back to Ron. 'You can wear them again,' he said.

Ron eyed at his shoes skeptically then to his brothers. 'What's with that look?' asked George. 'Don't tell me you're doubting us -'

'Which I have every right,' he said bluntly. 'After Percy, I'm your next favorite target for pranks at the Burrow.' Before his brothers could argue, he continued, 'but I'll give you two the benefit of the doubt for now.' He knelt down and untied the shoes which it did (he was quite surprised but he didn't show it) and put them on again. He straightened up again and checked down. 'Alright, you didn't do anything wrong,' he said finally. 'Thanks.'

'Nothing to it, ickle Ronniekinns,' grinned Fred, earning a scowl from him. 'You best be off now, you wouldn't want to be late -'

'I know that,' said Ron as he turned away from the two. 'I'll see you guys later!'

Luckily enough, he arrived on time. He saw Daphne taking a small glance at his feet and was mildly shocked to see him wearing his shoes. Ron couldn't help but smirk at her. 'Take a seat, Mr. Weasley,' called out Sprout.

Ron took the remaining seat at the far end of the greenhouse with his seatmates in the form of Hannah Abbott, Ernie Macmillan and Susan Bones. He didn't say anything throughout the whole lesson, taking notes and half-heartedly listening to the lecture. He noted, right after, that he had to make a decision. February was nearing its end in a few days and he had yet to take a particular action with regards to Peter Pettigrew. He only had roughly three to four months left to think about what he should do.

But one thing he had already decided was that he moved Peter back inside the secret room soon after Black infiltrated the Slytherin dungeons. Peter's fear came true; Black was really after him. And it was worse than before since Ron had to hide him from two grown men who had a vendetta against his so-called pet rat.

This worry fueled even more when Harry, Hermione and Neville approached Ron one warm afternoon as he left the library with his Transfiguration and Astronomy homework done. 'What is it do you three want from me?' he asked bluntly to them before anyone of them could say a word.

'We wanted to know what happened when Black entered your dormitory,' said Harry directly, figuring it was no use beating around the bush.

Ron sighed but he expected this would happen one way or another. 'Fine, but I'll only say this once so listen careful,' he jerked his head and shot daggers toward the other students who overheard them. 'Mind your own business, you lot,' he barked at them.

'You shouldn't be talking to them like that -' scolded Hermione.

'And you three approached me for something,' he said irritably to her. 'So if you want me to tell you what happened, don't tell me off.' Hermione didn't say anything back but gave him a hard glare. Neville watched the exchange between the two in slight apprehension.

Harry grimaced. 'You're not in the mood, are you?'

'You can say that,' said Ron gruffly. 'But I'll tell you anyway.' He told them what happened in detail unlike what he said to the others; he didn't know why but he felt they had to know.

'Thanks for telling us,' said Neville who looked shaken after hearing what happened.

'I'm surprised you know a lot more spells that the rest of our year do,' frowned Harry.

'I hardly have anything to do,' said Ron pointedly. 'Anyway, why do you want to know what happened?' He knew they wouldn't give him an honest answer but it was worth a shot.

'Just curious like the others,' answered the raven-haired Gryffindor. 'And do you have any idea why Black wanted to go inside there at your dormitory?'

Ron shrugged before turning to leave. 'Dunno, Black is mad just like the other prisoners in Azkaban.' he didn't bid them and walked away, not glancing back. _I know very well why he went for me,_ he thought as he quickened his pace. _And I don't intend to hand it over easily._

* * *

><p>'Do you think it's wise to continue this?' questioned Theodore during one Saturday afternoon as he and Ron were at the library together, doing a Potions project Snape assigned them to do. None of the Slytherins in their year, even Draco for that matter, made any comment about it whenever they were seen together; Ron knew that Theodore made up a believable excuse regarding schoolwork and that he, Ron, wasn't as useless as he was thought to be. With that answer, the rest assumed Theodore was making the redhead do more work. Ron didn't bother correcting this because it wasn't bothering him much.<p>

'Yes,' hissed Ron as he roughly wrote on his parchment. 'What do you think will happen if we handed Pettigrew over? Lupin and Black will go ballistic and they might kill him on spot -'

'They have every right to do that,' he pointed out. 'He betrayed them in the first place. You would've done the same way if someone did that to you as well.'

'Yeah, you're right,' nodded Ron. 'But I'm not going to let that happen. I just need one clue, that's all, so I can make a decision. And once I get that, we can really move on.' He continued to write down feverishly on the parchment with the answers he had in mind until he was done.

'Also,' said Theodore suddenly. 'When are you and Greengrass going to make peace?'

Ron scowled when her name was mentioned. 'Why would I? She's the one who's trying to intrude my life.' He chucked down his quill, the ink pot, spare parchment and other things inside his bag in anger. 'She's supposed to apologize to me.'

'You do know that's not going to happen,' said Theodore matter-of-factly. 'Females are known to be stubborn when it comes to apologizing. It's always the men who have to say sorry.'

'Are you one of those men, Nott?' questioned Ron with a sneer.

'No,' scoffed Theodore. 'But that's how females think.'

'So the best way is to win against her,' said the redhead with relish, not noticing Theodore rolling his eyes.

'And if I may ask, how are you going to win against her?'

He paused for a moment, thinking of the possibilities that would happen just to prove that he was right. 'Can't say but I'm sure I'll the one who has the last laugh,' he said with conviction.

However, it seemed that fate had already decided and Ron was forced to make a decision immediately. The day before of the third Hogsmeade visit, he earned himself two visions from no other than Harry Potter when he helped the raven-haired Gryffindor pick up his things that fell on the floor.

'_What are you two going on about?' asked Harry blankly, staring at the Fred and George in mild confusion. They were in an empty corner of the third-floor corridor, near the statue of the one-eye witch._

'_This,' he said, flourishing an old piece of parchment from his robes._

'_And that is?'_

'_The secret to our success here at Hogwarts,' said George proudly. 'It's -'_

'_- the Marauder's Map, the map of Hogwarts,' finished Fred with a wide grin. 'It's not just you can see the whole outline of the castle, you can see everyone -'_

'_Literally everyone inside the castle -' added George to emphasized his twin's point._

'_- and their location, and most especially the secret passages of this school,' said Fred finally. 'And amazingly that we're giving this precious masterpiece, we thought we don't need it much as before.'_

'_We already memorized everything there,' nodded his twin._

The second vision was surprisingly related to the first one as the scene changed. It was still Harry but replacing the twins was no other than Remus. They were walking away from where Snape's office was located and he was holding the map.

'_I can't give this back to you, Harry,' said Remus seriously to him. 'I'm not going to ask how you managed to possess this map – yes, I know it's a map -' he said, noting Harry's surprised look, '- but it's dangerous that you went out of the castle when in fact the whole staff and the Ministry are trying their best to protect you from Sirius Black.'_

'_I'm sorry -' Harry tried to apologize but the older man wasn't done._

'_Your parents gave their life for you, Harry. And this is how you repay them? By risking just to go out for a bag of magic tricks. You should think over your actions.'_

_Harry looked down, feeling quite ashamed of himself._

Ron couldn't believe what he just saw. 'Bloody hell,' he said, causing Harry to stare at him in disbelief. 'I have to go – I forgot something,' he sprinted off and ran up to the fourth floor to secret room, his thoughts in chaos. He ran inside and grabbed the cage with Peter inside and went out again. 'Potter might see Pettigrew,' he said through pants. He took a shortcut to go down to the ground floor near the west side of the castle grounds where Hagrid's hut was located. He rarely encountered anyone as he ran but his luck was running out when he saw Remus walking in the same hallway.

'You're in a hurry, Mr. Weasley,' noted Remus in greeting.

'Aha – I'm going to Hagrid – you know, he's Care of Magical Creatures professor – I wanted to ask something about pets – that kind of stuff,' rambled Ron, distancing himself from the older man as he tried to cover Peter away from him.

'Hagrid is quite knowledgeable when it comes to pets and magical creatures,' agreed Remus. 'In fact, I'm also going to him -'

Ron cursed under his breath but realized Remus had sensitive hearing senses. _Come on Ron, think of something!_ 'Yeah, that's great – we're going there together,' he said with a forced smile. _You have to shake him off! Think! You're a Weasley!_ He glanced around discreetly, hoping to find some leeway until he saw it. 'Professor, it seems that I won't be going to Hagrid's at the moment – need to talk with someone -' he steered away from him and to make it more believable, he hollered, 'Oi Granger!'

Hermione, who just appeared from the right end of the hallway, stopped and looked up to see who called her. Then her eyes narrowed. 'Weasley -' she said coldly.

Ron stopped her from talking by slinging his right arm over her shoulder and amazingly dragged her effortlessly from her spot. 'I've been wanting to tell you how I feel for a long time, Granger – no, it's Hermione, right?'

'What are you going on about?' demanded Hermione as she tried to release herself from him.

'I really like you,' said Ron in a deadpanned tone, earning odd looks from the onlookers. Hermione gaped at him, staring at him incredulously. 'No, really, that's how I feel -' _Is he still there?_ He took a swift look on the other side and luckily enough, he saw Remus no more. '- okay, actually, I'm just pulling your leg,' he said as he released her. 'I don't see you that way.'

Hermione blinked before rolling her eyes at him. 'Obviously you aren't.'

'I know you know that,' said Ron airily. 'I just feel like saying it just to see how you'll react,' he gave her a small wave and a cheeky grin and said, 'No hard feelings, Granger. But if you fixed yourself a bit, you'll be nicer-looking, I suppose,' he added just to ease her a bit. He turned around and walked quickly, not seeing the bushy-haired Gryffindor's stunned look. He strode quickly out of the castle and went to the grounds. 'Is he really going to Hagrid's?' he muttered to himself, watching the entrance of the hut from afar.

Surprisingly enough, Remus did approach Hagrid. He went out of the hut, talking amicably to the gamekeeper before leaving. Ron waited until the werewolf to be gone and hastily went to hut and knocked the door. The door swung open again and Hagrid stood before him. 'Who's there -? Oh yeh're the twins' younger brother, eh?' he said, his eyes on Ron.

Ron nodded. 'Yeah, Ron's my name. Can I come in?' he asked in his most polite tone.

Hagrid eyed on him a bit before nodding. He stepped aside and let the redhead inside his home. 'So, what is it do yeh need?' he asked as he poured tea on a chipped teacup and giving it to him.

'I…I have problems with my pet rat, Scabbers,' he said carefully. He placed Peter the rat who's still inside the cage on the table for Hagrid to see. 'He's been acting abit off lately and I don't know what to do. Is it okay if I let him stay here?' he asked, trying to sound hopeful for the huge man to believe him. 'I think a change of scenery will do and I heard from the twins that you really know a lot about animals.'

Hagrid flushed at his flattery, obviously pleased that someone praised him. 'I know a couple,' he said modestly. 'But I'll help yeh,' he added, causing Ron to grin.

'That's great,' he said. 'You can feed Scabbers anything, but he's fidgety with other people so it's best if you keep him somewhere others can't see him,' he lied smoothly, mentally crossing his fingers.

'Sure, I'll keep that in mind,' nodded Hagrid. 'So, yeh're doin' well at Slytherin?'

Ron blinked. 'It's manageable,' he said shortly. In all honestly if he could help it, being in Slytherin was giving him a hard time. But he wasn't going to say that.

Hagrid nodded. 'That's good teh know,' he said. 'You have teh be strong.'

'I'm always like that,' said Ron as he stood up. 'Thanks for the help. I'll visit a couple of times.' He bid the gamekeeper and left the hut, feeling more at ease than earlier. 'Black and Lupin won't be able to find him now,' said Ron confidently to himself. 'The gamekeeper's hut is far from the castle and the grounds so I'm sure he won't be seen.'

* * *

><p>With only three months left, Ron was becoming busier than ever. He had to postpone learning defensive and offensive spells and had to focus on his lessons and keeping an eye out for Scabbers, and Sirius and Remus. He was also forced to avoid getting seen with Luna (even if they weren't talking at all) who was being much more of a target on bullying although she was taking it quite well than himself.<p>

He was very furious at the treatment but he forced himself to wait until the best time to counter it. He was grateful to Ginny who was already sticking for the eccentric blonde Ravenclaw with a bit of help from the twins. 'I don't understand why they're treating her like that – sure she is odd but that's part of her charm!' complained Ginny to Ron during the weekend as they hung out at the same place like last year. 'If she only were a Gryffindor, I would've be with her all the time -'

'But she's definitely a Ravenclaw,' said Ron pointedly. 'She's very bright. Odd, yes, but very bright.'

Ginny nodded. 'I just don't understand why it's happening to her -' she saw Ron shifted uncomfortably and her eyes narrowed. 'You know something. Spill it.'

'It's my fault,' he said grudgingly, picking up a stone and throwing it at the lake.

'What do you mean -? Don't tell you -' she said angrily.

'No, I didn't tell those people to treat her like that,' snapped Ron before letting out a sigh. 'Let's just say someone doesn't like me talking with anyone except you, the twins and Percy since we're siblings.'

'That's not right,' exclaimed Ginny as she stood up. 'That person has no right to dictate who you should be talking with or not! Luna likes you already, Ron -' she stopped for a moment when Ron choked and it dawned to her what she just said. 'Well, not like that – she feels like you two are friends.'

'But you're her first friend, Gin,' he reminded her. 'We're just acquaintances, is all -'

'Yeah, but I'm not just her only friend,' she told him. 'So who's the person who caused -?'

'It's best if you don't know,' said Ron gruffly. 'I don't want you involved either.'

Ginny opened her mouth to retort but seeing Ron's determined look stopped her. She knew that she wouldn't be able to convince him no matter what. She was a Weasley after all. 'Fine, but do take care of yourself. And, I'm sor -'

'Don't,' he said, interrupting her. 'It doesn't matter anymore.'

The two returned inside the castle and went to their own ways. As he walked on his own, he caught of Daphne walking with Tracey, Millicent and Pansy. Even by just looking at her irritated her but as he was about to take off his gaze from her, he stopped. He saw Luna making her way to the opposite path where his Housemates were coming from. He knew for a fact that one of them would strike at the Ravenclaw.

'Hey Lovegood, where did you get those earrings?' shrieked Pansy who first saw her. 'I wanted to have a pair like that.' Then the others laughed outright at her comment.

Luna stopped her tracks and turned to face them. 'My mother gave it to me,' she answered, not seeing the humor behind the Slytherin's remark.

'How lovely,' she sneered. 'It has _sentimental_ value.'

'Sounds very expensive,' remarked Daphne. 'How much does that cost?'

'Not even worth a Knut!' answered Pansy and the others laughed again.

Before things could get worse, Ron stepped in. 'I don't think those earrings suit you at all, Parkinson,' said Ron snidely, standing in front of Luna. 'It'll make you look uglier than you are now.'

Pansy flushed deeply, glaring angrily at Ron. 'Shut your mouth, Weasley! You should learn to respect superiors like me! You're just a poor blood-traitor!' she snarled at him.

'Better a blood-traitor who uses their brains more often than purebloods like you,' sneered Ron, egging Pansy even more. 'You should be careful now, Parkinson. You might end up like Crabbe and Goyle if you continue acting like that. Same to you three,' he barked at Tracey, Millicent and Daphne. His glare stayed longer when it landed on Daphne who stared back calmly as if watching a mildly amusing show.

'Why you -!' Pansy made to grab her wand but Ron was quicker.

'I suggest you stop what you're planning to do,' he said coolly, his wand raised at her face.

'We should go, Pansy,' said Daphne suddenly, striding forward between Pansy and Ron. 'We're already wasting our breath talking to people like them.' She approached Ron and stood very close to him with their faces only a few inches away. 'Keep this up and you'll really regret it,' she whispered.

'You should be the one regretting what you started,' he said lowly. 'Don't drag her to your problem.'

'Sometimes, I wonder why you're in Slytherin,' she said before stepping back. 'Let's go,' she told to the others with her usual pretentious attitude.

When they left, Ron let out a sigh. 'That troublesome girl,' he said irritably, ruffling his hair in frustration.

'You don't need to defend me,' said Luna to him.

Ron turned to her and said, 'But you shouldn't let them walk over you.'

'You're too kind,' she said. 'but I can take care of myself. You should worry about yourself first before the others. I don't think being in Slytherin is easy.'

'I don't really know how you're able to know all of this,' said Ron to her in amazement.

Luna smiled vaguely at him. 'Your expression tells as much as how you feel, no matter how hard you try to hide it,' she said honestly before walking away.

Ron watched her go while thinking of the words she just uttered. 'Just my expression, huh?' he repeated before he walked away as well. And he knew that what she said was spot on; he suddenly got beaten up by Crabbe and Goyle right after entering the dormitory by Draco's orders who was asked by Pansy. It didn't take too long but Ron managed to stop it by grabbing Goyle's wand and hexing them at their faces with a Stinging Jinx before stunning them.

He wasn't badly beaten up but his whole body was aching and he got a black eye on his right. 'This is becoming more frequent, Mr. Weasley,' said Madam Pomfrey sternly as she patched him up.

'It's not like I'm doing this to myself on purpose,' said Ron pointedly.

'Your parents should be notified -' she said but Ron stopped her.

'No, they don't need to know,' he said to her stubbornly. 'I'm fine, really.' He jumped off from the stool and continued, 'I don't want them to worry.'

'Mr. Weasley,' she began.

'I can handle myself on my own,' he said firmly. 'Please, don't tell them.'

Madam Pomfrey looked as if she wanted to continue but relented in the end. 'Do promise me you'll be more careful, Mr. Weasley,' she said to him concernedly.

Ron grinned. 'I can't promise but I'll try.' He left the Hospital Wing and returned inside the Slytherin dungeons and to return Crabbe, Goyle, Draco and Pansy a favor. He was left satisfied with his work and it didn't much matter to him if he got detention by Snape for a week. But even so, what he did wasn't as horrible as the others did.

In three weeks, it would be the Quidditch final. It was more intense than Ron expected and he thought it was due to the fact that the last match was suspended due to the Chamber of the Secrets dilemma. Same as first year, the last game was between Slytherin and Gryffindor; hexes and jinxes were thrown in the air every time a Gryffindor and Slytherin crossed their paths. Funnily enough, Ron encountered Cormac McLaggen, a fourth year Gryffindor, again but this time in the hallway where a lot of students were passing by.

'Hey you're the twins' younger brother from Slytherin, right?' hollered the boy.

Ron glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at him. 'And you're that Gryffindor I hexed when I was in first year, yeah?' he smirked, earning a mortified look from him.

'Y-you liar!' said the Gryffindor defensively as he took out his wand and trying to regain some pride. 'You're going to pay for that!'

'I don't think so,' drawled the redhead as he held onto his wand before Cormac did; with a small flick, the Gryffindor was on the floor as if he slipped down with his face lying flat against the ground. Then boils appeared on his face, sprouting unpleasantly like a fast-grown fungus. 'You look dashing right now,' he commented and before anyone could rat out on him, he left the scene quickly.

The hexing between two rival Houses continued until the game had arrived. As both teams entered inside the Great Hall, everyone exploded into cheers with the Gryffindor House being the loudest of all.

Ron sat at the rightmost end of the Slytherin table, watching everyone in amusement. He, too, was excited and he knew that Gryffindor would definitely win against Slytherin and breaking their eight-streak win. He spent his time eating his food and was in no hurry to go straight to the Quidditch stands to get a good seat.

As he sat down on the highest stands at the Slytherin side (he thought it was best to show a bit of loyalty to the House of Snakes), he could tell everyone was still excited just as much as during breakfast. Ron waited until both teams marched out onto the pitch with their brooms in their hand. Everyone cheered loudly (Ron had to cover his ears to lessen the noise) and watched as they shook hands that ended quite fast.

The players stationed themselves and Madam Hooch, standing below them as she held up the Quaffle, waited like a predator. The moment the referee threw the ball up in the air, it began as everyone expected. All fourteen brooms rose in the air rapidly to get to their positions.

'And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no – Quaffle intercepted by Warrington -' boomed Lee Jordan, his eyes glued on the match and somewhat overpowering the loud cheers from the audience.

It happened almost too fast; after a couple of interceptions and swerves, Gryffindor took the first point. Gryffindor and the two Houses cheered loudly in response to the goal while the Slytherins booed. The game was just beginning but it was turning out to be nasty as Marcus Flint crashed into Angelina on purpose and almost throwing her off from her broom. The Gryffindor roared in indignation, screaming and shouting at Flint.

Then Ron saw Fred flew straight behind the Slytherin Quidditch captain and swung his Beater's bat at the back of his head. This caused for the Slytherin's head to go straight at his handle and deliberately breaking his nose. The Slytherins shouted and booed at the Gryffindor in reaction. 'This is intense!' exclaimed one Slytherin first year.

'You can say that again,' agreed Ron who was right now on the edge of his seat, watching the game as intently as the others.

As the game progressed, Gryffindor gained more points until it was more than eighty. Ron and the rest saw Harry dived and Draco, who was obviously unable to catch up with him due to the huge difference between their brooms, took hold onto the Firebolt's end.

'Foul!' shouted the students who saw what he did.

'Knock him off his broom, Potter!' hollered Ron, earning glares from Pansy and the rest of the Slytherins who heard him. 'What? That's foul and you know it!' he said to them.

'If Draco gets hurt, you're -' threatened Pansy.

'You'll what? Scratch me with your painted fingernails?' he sneered at her. 'I can grow you a pair on antlers on your head if you like, I'm sure you'll be better-looking,' he said with a feral grin, fingering his wand.

She was about to say something when the crowd from the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff let out exuberant cheers and chants. Ron looked up and grinned widely. 'POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS THE GAME WITH 230 POINTS AGAINST NIL FROM SLYTHERIN!' bellowed Lee Jordan, holding the microphone while standing and joining with the Gryffindors in the celebration.

'Seems to me like it's the end of Slytherin's winning streak,' mused Theodore who apparently sat two seats below Ron.

Ron smirked. 'That, it is.' He said, watching Harry being lifted by the other lions and holding up the Quidditch cup in the air with a wide grin planted on his face.

* * *

><p>The winning of Gryffindor at the Quidditch final last for a week. The weather was also good with the clear sky and the cool summer wind that could be felt whenever they ventured out of the castle. As much as everyone wanted to relax, they couldn't as the examinations were fast approaching. Ron spent most of his time studying inside the secret room because it was less noisy and he would be alone with no one to distract him.<p>

It's almost two months since he and Daphne didn't talk; her pranks on him were not as frequent as before and Ron knew it was because she was studying just like the rest. Ron was thankful because of this because it was wasting his time.

It surprised him to see his brothers Fred and George inside the library, poring over a couple of books. And as for Percy, he was becoming edgier and Ron heard from a couple of first years that his older brother was giving out punishment to those who made even a tiny bit of noise inside their common room. Ginny, on the other hand, went to him to help her review for a while when Luna wasn't with her.

Things were getting hectic and before they realized it, it was already examination week. Ron had Charms and Herbology as his first examinations on Monday and he thought he did well considering the amount of time he spent on reading.

On Tuesday, he had Muggle Studies and Potions; Ron was somewhat frustrated with a particular question in Muggle Studies exam wherein he had to enumerate and explain what Muggle inventions weren't compatible in a Wizarding environment. But right after, he and the rest of the Slytherins had Potions with the Gryffindors. In Ron's opinion, it was the hardest exam he had even if he studied thoroughly. They were tasked to make a Confusing Concoction and Ron thought the name of the potions suited perfectly due to the, for the lack of term, confusing directions and the number of counter-clockwise and clockwise stirs needed. By the end of the exam, he managed to at least thicken the potion and hoped to get an E from it.

The following day, Ron and the rest of the Slytherins only had Astronomy which would be held on the topmost tower at midnight. He spent half of his day reviewing for Ancient Runes and Charms which he would be taking the day after. Feeling sleepy and tired after the exam, Ron fell asleep immediately the moment he landed on his bed.

When Thursday had arrived, Ron took Ancient Runes with Theodore and Tracey, who were the only Slytherins who took the subject, and was relieved that it wasn't as hard he imagined by the time it ended. 'I can't believe I made a mistake on that question,' scowled Tracey after hearing Theodore's answer.

Theodore shrugged. 'You'll get it nexttime,' he said not to sound comforting but only because it seemed the most appropriate answer to give.

'Just two more exams and it's all over,' said Ron steely. 'I can't wait to laze around.'

Charms was a breeze to Ron even if he overdid the Cheering Charms. When Friday finally came, Ron felt it was already over even if he hadn't taken History of Magic exam. It was the only subject he hardly studied and it didn't bother him much that he couldn't answer half of the questions. The moment he stepped out of the classroom, he felt as if he was free from Azkaban.

He stretched out his arms and let out a huge yawn. 'It's bloody over. Thank Merlin for that,' he said as he tried to relax himself. As he walked, he didn't see Harry hurrying; the two bumped into each other and Ron, out of instinct, grabbed Harry but only got his robes. This caused Harry to double over and fall on the floor, earning amused looks and sniggers from the other students who were passing by. 'Ow – sorry,' said Ron to him as he scrambled to his feet.

'No, it's fine,' said Harry.

Ron held out his hand to help him stand up and Harry took it.

Then he found himself in a different environment; the room was sultry-looking and there were numerous curtains of different colors hung all over the walls. Cushions were propped on the floor, orbs with misty clouds inside were placed in shelves along with tea cups of different colors and styles, and inside were two people. One was Harry who was halfway across the trapdoor, staring at the other person in confusion. The person in question was strange-looking in Ron's opinion. She wore large glasses that magnified her eyes, a spangled shawl draped around her shoulder, numerous chains and beads hung around her thin neck, half of her arms covered with bangles and bracelets of different sizes, and large old-looking rings on her fingers.

'_**It will happen tonight**__,' she said in a forced and edgy voice that doesn't seem to suit her appearance. Her face was unfocused and her mouth was slightly open, causing her to look as if she wasn't able to sleep much._

'_S-sorry?__' said Harry apprehensively who was about to leave but decided to stay back._

'_**The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. He servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight…the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight…before midnight…the servant…will set out…to rejoin…his master…**__'_

Right after she stopped speaking, Ron's vision returned to reality. 'You still have one exam, yeah?' he asked automatically, forcing himself to sound casual.

'Yeah, Divination,' nodded Harry. 'I'll be late if I don't go now – thanks,' he turned around and ran again, avoiding the students in haste like they were Bludgers.

Ron stood in the middle of the corridor, staring at the direction where Harry took off as he tried to wrap up what he had just foreseen.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thank Merlin it's done!<strong>_

_**I thought I wouldn't be able to reach the cut but I did! Yay! Okay, this chapter really covered Snape's Grudge, The Quidditch Final, and Professor Trelawney's Prediction. I just skimmed through the last two chapters since there's hardly any development there.**_

_**Right, next chapter will revolve around Cat, Rat, and Dog, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, and Servant of Lord Voldemort. But I think the next chapter will cover up to Hermione's Secret.. I'm not sure but I'll let whatever writing thingy device in my mind decide in the end. You will see Remus, Sirius, Snape, the Golden Trio, and Dumbledore! That's more than enough hints and Dumbledore will play an important role, well, somewhat.**_

_**Hopefully, I'll be able to make the Silver Trio show their own brand of teamwork in the next chapter. Wish me luck! And thank you for giving me 171 reviews! I'm astounded that I garnered that many in this story!**_


	21. Chapter 20

**_To those who are questioning Ron's character in this story, please refer to the author's note below. Thank you and happy readings!_**

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><p>'It's going to happen in a couple of minutes,' he said hoarsely, thinking about the vision he just had. 'The Dark Lord – You-Know-Who – he – he -' he stepped back slowly and spun around before taking a sprint. 'Got to find him -' he said between his pants. He went down to the dungeons, shouted the password and entered inside the common room. 'Nott! Where are you?' he asked as he banged the door of the dormitory open.<p>

'And why are you looking for him?' sneered Blaise. He was the only one inside the dormitory and was halfway changing his shirt.

'None of your business Zabini,' snarled Ron before leaving. 'Come on, where are you,' he said angrily under his breath.

'Who are you looking for?' asked Astoria in curiosity, glancing up from the book she was reading. She was sitting comfortably in one of the high chairs in the common room.

'Nott,' he said hastily. 'Have you seen him?'

The younger Greengrass nodded once. 'He went out few minutes ago before you came in.'

'Do you have any idea where he went?' he asked in an almost desperate tone. _I need to talk to him. There's not much time left._

'No, I'm sorry,' she shook her head.

Ron let out a frustrated sigh. Without saying anything to her, he ran out of the common room and the dungeons. 'Where are you?' he said as he took the left turn. He passed by Fred and George who were with Lee without a word, unable to hear what either twin said to him and looked around. 'Hey Ron, you're done with -?' asked Ginny pleasantly who appeared in one corner with Luna.

'Sorry – I'm busy -' he said shortly to her without glancing toward them.

Unluckily enough, he saw Daphne who was chatting amicably with Pansy and the other Slytherin girls. He gnashed his teeth but thought she might know. He marched over them and grabbed Daphne by the wrist, whisking her away from the rest of her friends. He tuned out Pansy's words as he dragged the older Greengrass all the way to the nearest empty classroom.

'What – are – you - doing?' she said until she managed to release herself from his grip.

Ron closed the door behind him and said, 'I need you to help me find Nott.'

'You find him yourself,' she said haughtily. 'It's not my problem -'

'It does,' he hissed. 'I got a vision from Potter and I think it's related to Pettigrew -' Daphne's eyes widened a bit, 'but I need Nott first to confirm my suspicions.'

She responded, 'Even so, I'm not going to help you -'

'What the bloody hell's wrong with you?' he said angrily to her. 'This is serious! Don't tell me you're still holding a grudge against me for talking to Luna -'

'Of course I am!' she shouted back. 'She's an oddball! And outcast! Worse than you, obviously! And you hanging out with her and talking is putting me into a bad light! Have you got no gratitude for me? I'm working hard to make you at least presentable to the others -'

'I don't give a rat's arse about that!' he said, stomping his feet. 'You don't need to do it in the first place! I didn't ask you – I can be an outcast for all I care! I've always been one since I got sorted in Slytherin!'

'You're ungrateful! You really are!' she screamed at him, not caring that the others outside might hear her. 'I'm the one who's willing to talk to you even if the others don't want to and Theodore doesn't count because he only approached you because of schoolwork – I helped you with the Summoning Spell and being the bridge between you and Theodore during the summer – I told you about Lupin – I -'

Then it struck him. It occurred to him that Daphne wasn't really angry that he was talking to Luna. It was more than that. It was because he didn't treat her well throughout the whole year despite her contributions and yet he gave more to Luna whom he just met and began talking since the start of the year (end of the year, he thought, but it wasn't considered since they hadn't been introduced to each other properly).

He watched her screaming at him and it made him see more about her. Ron wanted to stop her from screaming but it seemed it was impossible with the temper she unleashed. So he only thought of the action he knew: he hugged her. To his surprise, it effectively stopped her (Ron thought it was because his action shocked her) but she tried to struggle to release herself right after a couple of seconds.

'What do you think you're doing -?' she demanded.

'I didn't mean to treat you badly,' he blurted out, holding his grip around her. 'You deserve more than I have given you.' He didn't know what to say anything else and he felt as if his mind got muddled up so quickly. 'I'm sorry. I really do,' he said and he meant every word.

Daphne stopped moving and fell silent. None of them spoke, hearing the deafening silence weighing on them and their heartbeats. 'You -' she began but the door swung open and she and Ron backed away from each other immediately.

'You're both here,' said Theodore as he strode inside, his hands in his pockets and watching the two with little interest. 'Made up with each other, I suppose?'

Ron scowled at him but relieved that he didn't need to find the weedy boy anymore. 'I've been looking all over for you, git,' he said to him, ignoring his remark. 'Where have you been loitering -?'

'I'm flattered that you need me that much,' he drawled.

'Your ego is getting bigger, Theodore,' Daphne rolled her eyes. 'So how did you find us here?'

'Parkinson,' he answered simply. 'She was raving about you being abducted by Weasley -' Ron snorted, '- and she told me where you two went. It was easy to locate you two since you're screaming at the top of your lungs -' he added, directing his words to the blonde Slytherin girl.

'Oh shove it, Theodore,' she huffed at him, crossing her arms across her chest. 'Anyway, now that we're all here, you have to tell us what you've mentioned earlier about You-Know-Who -'

'The Dark Lord?' asked Theodore, watching Ron intently with more interest now.

'Yes, _him_,' he hissed. 'Now close that door and listen to me carefully, you two -' As the three huddled together, Ron began telling them what he had foreseen and the two was very much shocked to hear all of it. 'Now that I've told you, I need all of us to decide -'

'Well, isn't it obvious?' said Daphne incredulously. 'We're going to hand Pettigrew over to the Ministry before that happens! Trelawney - that professor – made a prophecy and we're not going to let it come true! I've heard countless stories during the first war and it's definitely a huge no on my part to let that wizard – I don't care how powerful he is – get resurrected! I enjoy my life as it is right now, thank you!'

'I'm surprised you're against it,' said Ron to her.

'Honestly Ronald, my family doesn't take sides,' she said matter-of-factly. 'We're better than that.'

'So,' began Thedore, earning the attention of Ron and Daphne once again, 'Pettigrew will be the one who will help the Dark Lord return -'

'Yeah, that's it,' nodded Ron.

'And you have earlier visions about some sort of battle at Hogwarts,' he continued. 'which may lead that it may be the incoming second wizarding war -'

'- and more people will die,' interjected Daphne. 'There might be some potential business partners who'll die! That's not going to bode well with my family's business -'

'That's not the point, Greengrass,' scowled Ron exasperatedly.

Theodore cleared his throat and the two fell silent. 'Now we're going to decide whether we should let Pettigrew escape and fulfill the prophecy or we hand over Pettigrew.' When none of them spoke, he continued. 'There's going to be a huge impact either choice we make and obviously you're disagreeing about releasing him –' he said, directing her words to Daphne who nodded firmly, 'and you Weasley, what do you want to happen?'

'If we're going to hand over Pettigrew now, the prophecy won't happen,' said Ron thoughtfully. 'Also, the most likely consequence that will happen right after is that Black will be cleared and Potter will live with him. But,' he said, 'if he let him escape, the prophecy will be fulfilled and You-Know-Who will rise again.' More people will die and –'

'One of your family members will die because of it,' reminded Daphne bluntly, not caring if she was being too harsh to point it out.

'What do you want to happen?' questioned Ron to Theodore, hoping his answer would help him decide.

'I don't mind either way,' he shrugged. 'Handing Pettigrew over will delay the Dark Lord's resurrection at some point but there might be other people who will take the role of making it happen. The other choice will definitely follow its original course. However, you did not get any vision about which side will win.'

'Then,' said Ron slowly. _Both options have pros and cons…I have the choice to change the event and create the consequence for that. If we let Pettigrew get away, then he might tell everything to You-Know-Who and I'll get in trouble for that. My family will get dragged from what I've done, but…_He thought of Harry who he heard was currently living to his Muggle relatives who didn't like him due to him being a wizard. He thought it was sad that they didn't care for each other. Then his thoughts landed on Sirius who was innocent since the very beginning. _But handing Pettigrew won't guarantee that You-Know-Who won't be resurrected. There's a possibility someone else will take his place at a much later date. Which is better? Finish it quickly or delay it? _After much thought, he said finally, 'We're going to have to make both choices meet.'

Both Daphne and Theodore stared at him. 'What are you thinking?' questioned Theodore.

'Something drastic,' he said shortly. _This isn't drastic. It's mad thinking on my part._ 'I'll be right back – I'll meet you guys at the entrance to the grounds –'

'Where are you going?' demanded Daphne before Ron could step out of the classroom.

'I'll tell you both later,' he said shortly. 'Just go now -' He ran out of the room and passed by numerous students who were happy that exams were finally over. Ron knew where he wanted to go but he wasn't sure if he had any time left.

* * *

><p>'You've been gone for almost an hour,' said Theodore with a frown as he saw Ron making his way toward them. 'The sun is going to set soon in a couple of minutes.'<p>

'It's not like I did it on purpose, and I haven't been gone for that long,' he scowled. 'I had a hard time convincing the person -'

'And who might that person be, Ronald?' questioned Daphne with a raised eyebrow. 'You did say you'll tell us.'

'Not now,' he said. 'Anyway, just wait for a bit longer – I'll go get Pettigrew -'

'Hurry now, you did say we're almost wasting time,' drawled Theodore as Ron rushed over to Hagrid's. He caught a glimpse of the soon-to-be executed Hippogriff by the pumpkin patch and stopped by in front of the hut before knocking.

The door swung open and Dumbledore stood before him with a grim expression on his face. 'Ah Mr. Weasley, you're here,' he noted. 'Come inside.'

'Albus, no student shouldn't be here -' said a portly man Ron recognized immediately as Cornelius Fudge.

Ron cleared his throat to interrupt him, 'I'm just here to get my pet rat,' he glanced over Hagrid and saw how terribly nervous he was. 'Where is Scabbers?'

'R-right over behin' teh crate -' responded Hagrid, his voice hoarse and shaky.

Ron couldn't help but be sympathetic to the gamekeeper. _Stupid Malfoy_, he thought irritably as he grabbed Peter the rat from the cage, thinking it wouldn't be much use to him anymore. 'I'm sorry to keep you waiting -'

'Just leave now,' growled the other huge man with an axe.

The redhead shot a glowering look at the executioner. 'I'm sorry for your loss, Hagrid,' he piped up honestly before nodding to the headmaster and the minister. As he stepped out, he hid Peter inside his pocket and met up with Theodore and Daphne. 'Here,' he said, showing Peter to them. 'Greengrass, modify his memory but I have to tell you two something first -'

'What is it?' she asked as she took out her wand.

'You have to watch guard somewhere near the Whomping Willow – don't let anyone else see you -' said Ron quickly.

'Why there?' questioned Theodore with a frown. 'What are you planning, Weasley?'

'Don't ask too much questions right now, just do what I say – knock out anyone whoever tries to interfere Pettigrew from getting away or might not help make Black innocent – you have to decide. This is crucial.' He continued.

'What?' said Daphne, her voice rising. 'Ronald -'

'Don't argue with me,' he growled at her, effectively silencing her. 'and don't question with my decision until it's all over.'

Both Daphne and Theodore glanced with each other. 'All right,' said Theodore.

Ron sighed in relief. 'Good. Nott, I trust you to do it -'

'That's huge of you to say that, but fine,' he shrugged. 'Just tell us later what's going on in your mind.'

Daphne glanced between the two before letting out a frustrated sigh. 'Fine, I'll agree too,' she said huffily, crossing her arms.

'Now that settles,' he nodded. 'Now Greengrass, do it. Modify his memories.'

'How much?' she questioned, raising her wand and pointing it directly at Peter's unconscious rat form.

'Everything we've done to him,' he told her. 'Even the times I stunned him to keep him quiet.'

Theodore let out a small snort and earned a scathing look from Ron.

'I'm ready,' said Daphne. Without waiting for a cue, she said, '_Obliviate._'

Ron and the others waited, watching Peter the rat react but nothing seemed to have happened. 'Did it work?' he asked, still watching over Peter closely.

'Yes, I'm sure,' she nodded. 'Theodore, remove the Imperius Curse from him.'

'All right,' he said, taking out his wand this time. With a concentrated look on his face, he removed the Unforgivable Curse on the rat Animagus. Ron held him more securely, expecting what a traitor would do the moment he woke up. And his guess was right; the moment Peter woke up, he tried to scamper away but failed as the redhead tightened his grip around him with his hand. 'Knew that you'd try and escape -' he grunted.

'You should've brought the cage,' said Daphne. 'You're making it harder for yourself, but -'

Ron didn't fire back with what she said when Peter bit him hard. With that, Ron involuntarily let go of him. 'Ow! You bloody rat!' he yelped before chasing him. He rushed over to the grounds, away from Daphne and Theodore who didn't move from their spot as instructed, and dived with his hands outstretched, catching Peter once again. 'Ha! I got you!' he said triumphantly as he slowly stood up. But before he stood firmly on the ground, a streak of orange fur jumped over him, scratching him. 'Get – off – _me!_' he snarled, moving Peter away from the feline and grabbing his wand.

With a slash in the air, Crookshanks the cat was thrown few feet away from him. 'Crookshanks!' the sudden cry of Hermione echoed in the air. She was running toward his direction, behind her were Neville and Harry. Ron didn't notice where they came from but stopped when she pushed him aside roughly and knelt over her cat, checking frantically whether he was still alive or not. 'How dare you hurt him -!' she shouted at him.

'How dare me? Your cat attacked me first!' he snarled, completely forgetting his plan.

'Er – Hermione, we shouldn't be here -' said Harry hesitantly, lowering his voice so that Ron wouldn't hear him.

But Hermione didn't listen to him. 'It's not his fault!' she retaliated. 'He's a cat for Merlin's sake! Cats hunt rats! That's common knowledge! You -' her words stopped abruptly as if witnessing something that frightened her.

'That's a Grim!' gasped Neville, his eyes wide in fear.

Ron turned around and saw Shade bounding toward their direction, his fangs bared. He jumped and landed in the middle, effectively disrupting the commotion. The redhead fell back once again but still held onto Peter, who was still trying his best to get away.

Suddenly, Shade turned to Ron and bit him hard on his left leg; Ron didn't expect he would do this to him and cried out in pain as he felt the bone in his lower leg broke into half. 'Argh Shade -!' he said but the dog, whose mouth still clamped around his broken leg, began dragging him. He tried to ignore iy, gritting his teeth, but it was still too painful. His hands shook violently with Peter the rat in the middle and dared to open his eyes to see where the dog was dragging him to. Then he saw the Whomping Willow, the dangerous plant that would hurt anyone or anything that was close to it.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Crookshanks, who was surprisingly still conscious, avoiding the lashes of the Willow's branches effortlessly and seemed to have pressed a knot. Suddenly, the tree froze and the Shade dragged Ron rougher than earlier. _Where are you taking me -?_ His thoughts were answered when he and Shade went under the tree where there was a tunnel. The pain of his leg greatly distracted him from looking around. The dog dragged him all the way until they reached the topmost landing. Ron decided to put Peter back inside his pocket and hid him from anyone's view although it wasn't helpful enough because he knew that Black already had him.

They entered a room stationed at the end of the corridor and Shade pulled him to the edge of a bed before finally letting go of him and walking away. Ron let out a hiss, feeling his left leg throbbing more painfully as he tried to make it move.

'I suggest you stop that,' said a rough voice not far away from him. 'You'll be in more pain.' He approached him and knelt down to grab his wand.

Ron moved his head, blinking a couple of times and saw the man he had seen in visions standing before him. He still wore the shabby robes he had seen in the vision and his hair was long and messy. However, the Sirius Black standing in front of him wasn't as skeletal-looking or hollow as he had imagined; he had more muscle and seemed to gain a bit more weight. His eyes were dark yet alive, glinting maliciously as he gazed on Ron's bulging pocket where Peter was placed by him.

Then Crookshanks appeared, jumping over the bed and letting out a low purr. He settled comfortably on it, and his amber eyes rested on Ron as if testing him.

He was about to say when he heard footsteps outside the room. He fell silent and watched as Sirius stepped back behind the door to conceal himself. In a few moments, Harry, Hermione and Neville burst into the room with their wands alight. Crookshanks let out a purr like a greeting to them.

'Weasley!' said Harry, dashing across to him. 'Are you okay?'

'Do I look like I'm okay?' scowled Ron before wincing.

'W-where's the dog?' asked Neville nervously, glancing around.

'Not a – a dog,' he grunted as his leg shook violently in agony once again. 'He's an Animagus – urgh -' _Bloody hell, why did he have to bite my leg that hard?_

The door closed with a small click and Black shouted the Disarming spell at the three Gryffindors, their wands knocked off from their hands and in the air. Black caught all three wands with his left hand and took a step closer. His eyes, Ron noticed, were fixed on Harry. Harry, on the other hand, had his eyes filled with hatred, something he didn't see from the bespectacled Gryffindor.

'I've never thought of you to save a Slytherin,' he said hoarsely. 'But then your mother would have. Very brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful…it will make everything much easier…'

Harry did something that surprised Ron; he charged at Black and tried to overpower him, pushing the older man against the wall. Both Neville and Hermione gasped, shocked at what their friend was doing to the alleged murderer. But Black didn't seem to be in a difficult position; he moved his hands and pushed Harry with little trouble. Ron suspected it was because of his care that Black managed to regain some of his strength along with being outside from Azkaban for a couple of months since the break-out. 'No,' he said raspily. 'I've waited too long for this -'

As he took a step forward, Hermione swung her leg and knocked off Black somehow. Both Harry and Neville took the chance and tackled him, trying to get their wands back. All four of them were on the floor, their bodies and robes tangled. Even Crookshanks joined in the fray. From Ron's point of view, he didn't think they would get out of it that quickly.

_It's like I'm the audience here,_ he mused to himself, somehow managing to ignore the pain more successfully than earlier.

After much scuffling, Black was left wandless and Harry stood with his wand back in his hand, pointed and raised at the older man's face. 'Going to kill me, Harry?' he breathed, not showing an inch of fear and stared straight into Harry's eyes.

'You killed my parents,' growled Harry. Although his voice was almost inaudibly shaking, his grip on his wand was steady.

Ron was impressed with the Gryffindor. _He's good under pressure, it seems_, thought Ron mentally.

Black watched him. 'I don't deny it,' he said morosely. 'But if you knew the whole story -'

'The whole story?' repeated the raven-haired Gryffindor angrily. 'You sold them to Voldemort -' Ron, Neville and Hermione all winced. Even Peter the rat gave out a muffled squeak and a jolt after hearing the dark wizard's name. '- that's all I need to know.'

Ron tuned out and waited until Lupin entered the scene as he imagined it would happen before his vision. And his thoughts did come true; the door swung open and Lupin strode inside, disarming the three Gryffindors and shocking them. Then the words Lupin let out shocked everyone even more (but not so much from Ron). 'Where is he, Sirius?' he questioned urgently, glancing toward Black intently.

Black didn't respond. Instead, he raised his hand and extended his forefinger, pointing it directly to Ron's direction. Harry was bewildered, staring at Lupin to Black back and forth. Hermione and Neville, on the other hand, froze in confusion, unsure what were the two adults talking about.

'But then…' Lupin glanced down on Ron and back to Black, thinking, '…why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless -' Then his eyes widened as if stumbling upon a discovery he never realized until now. '- unless he was the one…unless you switched…without telling me?' he asked, his voice filled with a sense of knowing the answer. After he spoke, Black nodded once.

Harry spoke up, looking confused as ever. 'Professor, what's going on -?' He wasn't able to finish his question when Lupin did the unthinkable in front of them; he lowered his wand, approached Black and embraced him like a brother.

All of a sudden, Hermione shouted in utter disbelief. 'I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!' she screamed. Everyone jumped in surprise, staring at the bushy-haired Gryffindor in apprehension.

'Hermione -' said Neville, trying to calm her down.

'You – you – you and _him!_' said Hermione, her voice rising higher.

'Ms. Granger, please calm down,' said Lupin placatingly to her. 'Let me explain -'

'I didn't tell anyone!' she continued with her outburst and Ron knew what it was all about. 'I've been covering up for you -'

Then Harry joined in with the shouting. 'I trusted you,' he said, his voice shaking uncontrollably in fury. 'and all this time you've been his friend!'

But as Lupin tried to explain, Hermione didn't take heed and told them the secret. 'Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too – he's a werewolf!'

Everyone fell speechless, the silence ringing loudly in their ears. Lupin, although he looked calm, was pale. 'You only got one out of three correct, Hermione,' he said as if lecturing in class. 'Firstly, I haven't been helping Sirius get into the castle, and I definitely don't want Harry dead -' a pained look went across his face, '- but yes, I am a werewolf. So how long have you known about my secret?'

'Ages ago,' she said quietly, not meeting his gaze. 'Since I did Professor Snape's essay -'

Ron snorted and everyone turned their attention toward him. 'She's not the only one who knew about that,' he shrugged. 'I've known about that way before Snape volunteered to take over his class. Just saying, is all.'

Lupin looked amused between the two students. Black was expressionless. 'Now you three,' he began, trying to diffuse the tension weighing on them, 'I know what you're thinking but please, let me explain. Look -' to everyone's surprise, even Ron's, he gave them back their wands. 'There, you're armed. We're not. Now will you listen me?'

The Gryffindors, especially Harry, didn't respond. Ron decided he would. 'All right, we'll listen,' he said, voicing out the others' thoughts.

'Thank you,' smiled Lupin. And so he began, telling them what happened and how he knew where they were. Ron already knew about the Marauder's Map because of his vision but he was surprised to know that Harry owned an Invisibility Cloak and it sounded rare and one of a kind. He continued until he reached to the point about Peter or what the others knew as Scabbers.

'What?' asked Ron, injecting his words with confusion to make himself sound believable. 'What's Scabber got to do with it?' _Bloody well almost everything since I was in diapers._

'Everything,' said Lupin gravely as he held out his hand. 'Could I see him, please?'

Ron feigned hesitance before showing Peter the rat, who was thrashing desperately, by the tail so that he wouldn't go anywhere. The others watched curiously and Black's eyes darkened at the sight of the rat.

'So, what's Weasley's rat got to do with anything?' asked Neville after picking up the courage to ask.

'That's not a rat,' croaked Black suddenly, surprising the Gryffindors again.

The Gryffindors frowned. 'What do you mean – that's definitely a rat -' said Harry.

'No, he's not,' said Lupin quietly, his eyes fixed on Peter. Ron could tell he tried his best to calm himself down. 'He's a wizard.'

'An Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew,' finished Black, saying the supposed dead wizard's name in disgust and hatred.

The moment he said that, Ron knew what the three were thinking. It made sense why they would think like that because it seemed impossible. But Ron learned for the past two to three years that things that might be perceived as impossible were, in fact, possible and true. Then Black suddenly charged at him, surprising him with his actions but Lupin stood in front of him and blocked him off, struggling to keep him away from the redhead. 'They've – got – the – right – to – know – everything!' panted Lupin, still holding Black back to restrain him. 'Mr. Weasley kept him as a pet -' Ron managed not to snarl, '- there are parts of it even I don't understand! And Harry – you owe him the truth, Sirius!'

Sirius stopped as he heard Lupin's words; he stepped back and turned around angrily. 'All right, then, but you better be quick, Remus.' he growled. 'I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for…'

Sighing, Lupin turned to face the students and began to tell their story, the Marauders. The story sounded adventurous and fun even if it lacked some details. Everyone was focused with Lupin's words and listened intently as he delved into their past lives. Ron could tell that the friendship between the four boys was astounding and it seemed unlikely that it would break, but it did in the end and it was tragic. But Ron felt something unseen shifted near him and he glanced around. 'Is this place haunted?' he asked Lupin.

'No,' he said. 'The Shrieking Shack was never haunted to begin with…the screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me.'

'Oh,' he said, realizing where they currently were located.

Heaving a sigh, he continued. 'And so I convinced myself that Sirius managed to get inside the school grounds using the Dark Arts he learned from Voldemort –' Ron, Hermione and Neville winced, 'that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it…so, in a way, Snape had been right all along about me.'

Black jerked his head upon hearing Snape's name. 'Snape?' he spat. 'What's Snape got to do with it?'

'He's here,' said Lupin tiringly. 'He's a professor teaching Potions.'

For some reason, Ron didn't like the tone Sirius used while saying Snape's name. 'What's your problem with him?' he questioned tactlessly.

Black bared his teeth and sneered. 'Of course you would defend your dear old professor. Typical Slytherin,' he snarled. Ron felt anger rising inside him; if his leg wasn't broken, he would've jumped at him and punched him until he couldn't move anymore.

Lupin shot a warning look and looked at Ron. 'Professor Snape attended school the same time with us. He was very adamant about appointing me to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, thinking that I shouldn't be trusted. He has his reasons,' he glanced over Sirius who scoffed. '…you see, Sirius played a trick on him that nearly cost his life, a trick which involved me -'

'It served him right,' interjected Black. 'Sneaking around, trying to find out what we're up to…hoping to get us expelled -'

'Your Potions professor was very interested where I went to every month,' said Lupin, trying to ignore what Black said. 'He – er – doesn't like us very much -'

'Understatement,' snorted Black. 'He despised us. I wouldn't be surprised if he feels the same until now.'

'Sirius,' said Lupin wearily. 'He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent of the Quidditch field -'

'I doubt that,' argued Ron, feeling that he had to defend the Head of Slytherin. 'Why would he be jealous of someone because of Quidditch talent? That's stupid and shallow,' he said. 'And Snape's already talented enough in Potions, someone you obviously need to brew you that Wolfsbane potion which I'm sure I'm correct -'

'Because your professor is a pitiful outcast,' said Black harshly. 'He's an oddball, and pathetic.'

'You're a hypocrite,' snarled Ron as he tried to get up but he shook badly and ended up sitting on the bed and clutching his leg. 'You think you're above than the others? You're just the same as the other Slytherins – you're narrow-minded, cruel, and heartless. That's a no-brainer since you're from the Black family – you're all the same -'

Black turned pale at Ron's words and growled. 'Don't – you – dare – _compare me with those filths!_' He shouted as he marched toward him.

Ron couldn't do anything; he was stuck on the bed as the others widened in shock. Lupin tried to block him but Black pushed him aside roughly.

But before it could get worse, someone appeared before Ron. 'Take one more step, Black, and I'll make sure you won't be able to walk again,' Snape's voice spoke deadly. He stood tall and menacing as ever between Ron, Lupin and Black, his wand raised at the two men and tossing a cloak that Ron assumed as Harry's Invisibility cloak aside.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And this is where I end this chapter.<strong>_

_**I realized this chapter covered some parts of Trelawney's Prediction, the full Cat, Rat and Dog, and a summarization of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs.**_

_**EDIT: It seems that some (or most) readers don't like the attitude Ron in this story is showing. So it's my duty as the author to explain some things. And here we go!  
><strong>_

_**First and foremost, Ron Weasley, in my honest opinion and view, has the same thinking as Draco Malfoy. They are biased. Both of them think they are right for what they believed in. Of course we all know Ron's side is more right than Draco's because as readers in this modern generation, we value rights and equality. Anyway, they are biased and they hate anyone who's against their beliefs. Secondly, they are narrow-minded. This is related to the first one; they will never listen to anyone and is still in insistent on what they knew. Thus they become ignorant. Ron is ignorant in his own way, and so is Draco. Yes, they believe in two completely different things but the way they think is the same. This is what I've noticed in Canon while reading HP stories. Now think about it, if Draco made friends with Harry first than Ron, then Draco is in the right more than Ron and we'll be seeing a different perspective.  
><strong>_

_**Therefore, Ron in this story is a hypocrite. And in denial. Daphne already pointed it out once or twice, and so did Theodore but he generalized it as what most Slytherin pureblood families think. Possibly someone will slap him awake in the later chapters.  
><strong>_

_**Secondly, let's tackle the his treatment towards Hermione, Daphne and the rest of the female characters. Ron is coming off as rude to Hermione and I realized that his comment to Hermione about being "better-looking if she cleaned up a bit" is rather offending to some. Well, throughout my experience interacting with boys (which I'm sure most of you are), there are some boys who are tactless. That's Ron. He speaks before he thinks. And I wrote that bit based on one part of GOF's the Unexpected Task. Canon!Ron was being picky to ask out female dates and made a mean remark about Eloise Midgen with her nose "off-center". On the other hand, Ron didn't mean what he said to Hermione. And in all honesty, he's not good at articulating his words. I don't know what's worse, Canon!Ron telling Hermione that she's a "girl" or that he said that she'll be better-looking if she fixed herself a bit more. To dissect the words in its actual sentence, he's trying to say "You look fine but I honestly believe you will look better if you take care of yourself more." As far as I understand Hermione throughout the books, she's not the type who's into looks and doesn't consider herself attractive.  
><strong>_

_**As for Daphne, Ron doesn't like her (obviously and with a couple of reasons). She didn't make a good impression to Ron but as I've said earlier, Ron is biased and ignorant so it's his own fault. Daphne is pushy and orders Ron around in the form of favors and Ron doesn't like being pushed. I mean, who doesn't? But his treatment with her will change but it's not going to happen immediately. He still doesn't trust Slytherins in general (he's a Slytherin but he's in denial). I can't explain much but Ron is someone who needs a good shove in order to see the bigger picture of a person.  
><strong>_

_**And he's going to open up. But it's not going to happen overnight. I don't think any sane person's going to open himself/herself to anyone he doesn't trust much immediately. It takes time and he and the rest must take one step at a time. And he's becoming less selfish. Even if he and Harry aren't friends, Ron thought of him and was willing enough to help Sirius prove his innocence in his own Slytherin way without them knowing. That's the first step.  
><strong>_

_**If you guys have any more questions, just ask away. I'll try to answer. Oh, I almost forgot, about Neville being a replacement to Ron in the Golden Trio, he will improve. I know Neville seems sidekick material in some aspects and of course, I'm not going to turn him to Canon!Ron. I just wanted him to grow up faster since he's friends with Harry and Hermione. Harry inspires him and Hermione encourages him which are good but Neville has yet to be in equal footing with the two. But I believe in him.  
><strong>_


	22. Chapter 21

No one had spoken a word; the students held their breath, watching the three adults with their eyes wide. The three grown wizards faced each other, only one of them had their wand out in combat stance. Lupin glanced between Snape and Black cautiously, guessing who would strike first. Snape, with his wand raised, glared with utmost loathe in his eyes at the two men before him. Black glared outright at the pale man in black robes as he sneered, baring his yellowish teeth like an angered dog.

'I found that cloak at the base of the Willow,' said Snape, breaking the silence surrounding them. 'Very useful, Potter, I thank you…' His black eyes were glinting and he had that look of triumph and anger on his face. 'I'm sure all of you are wondering how I found out you're here?' he said almost breathlessly. 'I went to your office, Lupin, to give you your potion tonight, and I am very thankful indeed…lying on your desk was a certain map and only one glance told me all I needed to know.'

'Severus -' began Lupin, but Snape interrupted him.

'Don't call me by my first name,' he snarled, before turning to Black. 'And you, I've been wondering when we'll meet -'

'I'm pleased to know that you thought of me every single moment of your pathetic life,' said Black spitefully, hurling insults at him at first chance.

'Don't flatter yourself,' sneered the Potions Master. 'Wizards like you don't deserve to roam around freely -'

Black let out a laugh that vibrated across the room. 'Like you're the one to talk! You're -'

'SILENCE!' he bellowed, effectively silencing everyone. 'Two more for Azkaban tonight,' he said, his eyes gleaming fanatically. 'I am very much interested how Dumbledore will take it…he was convinced that you, Lupin, were _harmless_…a _tame_ werewolf.'

'You fool,' said Lupin, his eyes boring on Snape's orbs. 'Are you going to let your schoolboy grudge overtake reason to see the actual truth?'

Without warning, thin, snake-like cords burst from Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's wrists, arms and ankles which caused him to overbalance and fall on the floor. Black let out an angry roar and charged at Snape; he was blasted off by his feet and was also tied up the same way as Lupin.

Ron watched in dread. As much as he liked Snape defending him earlier, his presence wasn't helpful in easing the tension inside the room. _No, no, no,_ he said inside his head. _This isn't happening._ He knew he couldn't do anything but he had to try. 'Professor -' he called.

'Mr. Weasley,' said Snape suddenly. 'You will need to be escorted out of this place immediately.' He pointed his wand at the redhead's broken and bleeding leg and the next thing Ron knew was that it was already bandaged. 'Potter and the others -' he curled his lips and sneered, 'will assist you out. Your leg will have to be checked by Madam Pomfrey.' He turned his head to face the three Gryffindors and said, 'What are you waiting for? Do as I say -'

'No,' said Harry in conviction, looking at Snape straight in the eye and stepping in front of Black and Lupin. 'I want to listen what he has to say -'

'You're just wasting my time,' sneered Snape. 'Now get out of the way, Potter -'

'No, I won't,' said Harry, raising his voice and standing on his ground. Ron couldn't help but be impressed; no one had ever stood up against Snape as far as he knew.

'You're already in enough trouble, Potter,' he said in a deadly voice and Ron knew that the Potions Masters was keeping his anger at bay. 'You should be grateful to me, If I haven't been here to save your skin -'

'He would've killed earlier,' blurted out Harry. 'I've been alone with him more than a couple of times, especially when he was teaching me defense lessons against the Dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?'

Ron silently agreed with the raven-haired Gryffindor. But somehow, he had a feeling Snape wouldn't give any of the men a chance to be heard out. 'Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works,' snarled Snape and right there and then, he pushed Harry aside roughly with one hand. With a snap of his fingers, the end cords that bounded Lupin and Black flew to his hands. 'I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for him too -'

But before he could turn and drag the other two men out of the room, Harry had closed the door. 'Out of the way,' growled Snape. '_Do as I say, Potter!_'

'YOU'RE PATHETIC!' yelled Harry, surprising the others inside the room. 'JUST BECAUSE THEY DID SOMETHING TO YOU AT SCHOOL BEFORE YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN TO THEM NOW! WHAT KIND OF ADULT ARE YOU -?'

'I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN LIKE THAT!' bellowed Snape maddeningly and the end of his wand spit fiery red sparks, signaling his fury. And the next thing the rest knew, a number of spells flew across the room and Snape, who seemed to have the upper hand, was now sprawled unconscious on the dusty floor.

'Oh no,' panicked Hermione, her voice quavering and clutching her wand shakily. 'We just attacked a professor – oh, no, no -'

Ron felt sorry for his professor but it was better that he should stay that way until it was over. Both Black and Lupin were finally untied with the help of Neville and Harry and were now standing. 'Thank you, Harry,' said Lupin sincerely to the Gryffindor.

'I still haven't said I believe you,' pointed out Harry as he turned away.

Lupin let out a faint smile. 'Yes, you're right.'

'Sorry for what we did to Snape,' said Harry reluctantly to Ron.

'You did try to explain,' he pointed out with a non-committal shrug. 'Can't say I blame you and the others for what you did just now.' He turned to look at Lupin and Black and said, 'Aren't you going to tell us any proof?' he said expectantly. _We've wasted enough time here in this room._

'And we will,' said Black roughly and making his way to him after picking up Snape's wand. 'Now hand over that rat,' he growled.

'Sirius,' said Lupin sharply.

Black didn't say anything else and held out his outstretched hand, waiting. Ron handed Peter the rat to him without hesitation. 'You're not complaining,' he said, noticing Ron's lack of reluctance.

'I just thought,' said Ron slowly, trying to come up a good excuse. 'that if Scabbers isn't an Animagus, he wouldn't get hurt by whatever spell you're going to use on him. And besides, Professor Lupin's here,' he added, gesturing toward Lupin's direction.

Lupin raised an eyebrow at his answer. 'Well then, let's get this over with,' he said as he picked up his wand from the floor. But before he and Black could do anything, Hermione raised her hand. Her action strongly reminded Ron of her wanting to recite during class. 'Yes, Hermione?' he asked lightly.

'A thought went across my mind and I thought -' Ron suppressed a snort, thinking it was very typical of her to do that, 'How sure Mr. Black -' Black's eyebrows shot up and gave Hermione a faint amused look behind his mangled messy hair, 'that Scabbers, Weasley's pet rat, is really Peter Pettigrew? There must be thousands of rats – how was he possibly able to point out that that rat's the one he's been after?'

'You have a point there,' nodded Lupin as he turned to face Black with a slight frown on his face.

Black didn't say anything and moved his free hand into his robes and taking out a crumpled piece of paper. He tossed it to Lupin, who caught it.

Lupin smoothened the paper out and looked at it. And he gasped. 'How did you get this?' he asked softly, staring at it before showing it to the others. Right there and then, Ron realized how Black was able to find out.

'Fudge,' grunted Black. 'He visited Azkaban last year and gave me his paper. And I saw him, sitting on your shoulder…' he said, nodding toward Ron, 'I knew it at once the moment I saw it. You and I both saw him transform countless of times…And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Harry was…'

'So,' spoke Neville slowly. 'You broke out of Azkaban because you thought he would hurt Harry?'

Black gave a small nod, clutching Peter the rat tightly in his hand. Harry stared at him in shock and (Ron noticed swimming in his eyes) moved by his confirmation.

'But that doesn't explain how you're able to pinpoint him,' said Hermione, not fully understanding his answer.

'His front toe is missing,' responded Black to her. Ron nodded mentally.

'And everyone knew what left of him was his finger,' said the werewolf to everyone.

'It was very clever of him for once,' croaked Black. 'On that day, before he transformed and after I cornered him, he yelled across the street that I killed Lily and Jamaes. Then, before I could curse him, he blew up the street with his wand behind his back, killing the Muggles nearby and transforming into his Animagus form – he sped down into the sewer with the other rats.'

'But why would Pettigrew faked his own death?' questioned Harry this time. 'Maybe because he knew that you're going to kill him just like my parents!'

'Yes,' he nodded, giving the rat an evil look.

'Then I should've left Snape take you!' shouted Harry angrily.

Lupin stepped in and reassured Harry about Black's innocence but was having difficulty because Harry was adamant that it was Black's fault why his parents were dead in the first place. For some odd reason, Black didn't deny it and said he was the very reason why Harry's father and mother died because of one event and it was the switch. 'There's only one way to prove to you everything,' said Lupin. 'We're going to reveal Peter to you. I assure you,' he added, giving Ron a reassured look, 'your rat won't get hurt in the process.'

_I hope it does hurt him_, said Ron in his mind.

With their wands at ready and Black holding the rat steadily in his hand, Lupin said, 'On the count of three – two – one -' A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands, and Black took the cue to let go of the rat. The Gryffindor students were mesmerized at the sight and Ron waited for the moment he expected – another flash of light appeared and moments later, the rat was gone and was now replaced with a small grown man.

Neville and Hermione let out a gasp. Harry's eyes widened.

'Well, hello Peter,' said Lupin casually as if greeting someone he had never met for a few years. 'Long time, no see.'

Ron waited. _Did the modification work? Will he not remember?_

Peter looked around wildly, glancing from Lupin and everyone's face to the door few feet away. 'S-Sirius…Re-Remus,' he said breathlessly, his voice quavering in fear. 'My friends…my old friends…'

'You have the nerve to call us that?' growled Sirius, his glare intensifying. 'After all you've done to us? To Lily and James?' He stepped forward, causing Pettigrew to back away, and raised Snape's wand.

But Lupin stopped him, gripping his arm and giving him a warning glance. He turned to Pettigrew and said in a light casual tone, 'We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed -'

The balding man gave out a squeak. 'Remus,' he called out, his voice becoming wheezing as if having a seizure. 'You don't believe him, do you? He tried to kill me…and now he will! He killed Lily and James! He's going to kill me now!' It was becoming more pathetic as Ron watched Pettigrew begging to Lupin to believe his lies. Pettigrew shouted and flailed, crying his eyes out and insisting that Black was in the league with You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. 'You don't believe this – this madness, Remus -' panted Pettigrew, wiping face with his sleeve.

'I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty understanding why someone like you who claims to be innocent would hide and pretend as rat for twelve years,' said Lupin evenly.

Ron bit back a laugh. He was sure that his Defense professor was being sarcastic but it was still funny to hear it.

'Innocent, but scared!' squeaked out Pettigrew. 'If Voldemort's -' Neville, Hermione and Ron flinched at the mention of the wizard's name, 'supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban – the spy, Sirius Black -'

'How dare you,' snarled Sirius, his voice suddenly changed and more animalistic-like. 'Why would I hide behind other people's backs who were stronger and more powerful than myself? Never. I'll never understand why I didn't see you as the spy – you always liked to be with big people you can depend to look after you. Before you joined us, it was always James, Remus and I…' before Pettigrew could say anything, Black continued. 'You only became Secret Keeper because I suggested it to Lily and James. I thought it was the perfect plan…Voldemort wouldn't expect someone as pathetic and weak as you to be Secret Keeper. It must have been your finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters.'

When Ron thought the talking was going to end, Hermione raised her hand once more. 'Er - Mr. Black – Sirius,' piped up Hermione, earning a mixed expression from Black himself. 'If you don't mind me asking, how – how did you escape from Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?'

'Thank you!' gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at the bushy-haired Gryffindor. 'Exactly! Precisely what I -'

Both Black and Lupin shot a silencing look at him and the rat Animagus shut his mouth immediately. Black turned and stared at her for a moment and Hermione quivered under his gaze.

'I don't know how I did it,' he spoke slowly. 'All I know when I was in Azkaban was that I was innocent. It wasn't a happy thought so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me…it kept me sane during those years and I guess it helped me regain some strength until I was able to transform into a dog. Dementors can't see,' he continued, explaining it to the people inside the room. 'They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions…as a dog, they couldn't tell – it was less complex, less human – they didn't notice it…but I was weak, very weak like the others.'

Hermione opened her mouth to speak but Ron gave her a silenced look that said Don't-interrupt-him.

'But when I saw Peter in the picture,' reveled Black. 'I realized that he was at Hogwarts with Harry…perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again…I had to do something…I was the only one who knew that Peter was still alive…'

As he paused, the small squeaks and pants coming from Pettigrew were only heard across the room. Harry wore an unreadable expression on his face, watching Black. 'So, one night when they opened the door to bring food, I slipped in as a dog…they couldn't sense my emotions while I was in Animagus form…I was thin, thin enough to slips through the bars…I swam back to the mainland as a dog…and went inside Hogsmeade as one. I've been staying inside the Forbidden Forest ever since, except of course, when I came to watch you play Quidditch. You fly as well as your father did, Harry…' then he looked at Harry, who didn't look away.

Pettigrew's breathing quickened, watching the two in fear which Ron knew where it was coming from. His eyes darted from the two, to the door and window. Ron saw Lupin kept an eye on him, his wand raised and pointed at him in case. 'Believe me,' said Black to Harry. 'I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I ever thought of betraying them.'

From that moment, Harry merely gave a short nod. Pettigrew let out a strangled noise after seeing the gesture; it was like a death sentence to him. He groveled over to Black and grabbed the front of his robes. 'Sirius – it's me…Peter…your friend…you wouldn't…'

But Black threw him off with a disgusted and sneering look on his face. 'That's not going to work on me.'

Then Pettigrew went to Lupin, pleading but the werewolf wouldn't hear of it. Then Lupin and Black asked each other for forgiveness and made up with each other. 'Shall we kill him?' asked Black casually to Lupin as if talking about the weather.

'Yes, I think so,' agreed Lupin, rolling his sleeves.

Pettigrew's eyes widened, his pasty face turned sheet white. 'You wouldn't…you won't…' he gasped before scrambling toward Ron whose eyes widened at the sudden decision. 'Ron…haven't I been a good friend to you…? A good, obedient pet…? You wouldn't let them kill me, will you…you're on my side, aren't you -?'

'After everything that's been revealed tonight,' sneered Ron as he slowly backed away from him, 'you expect me to defend you? One thing that irked me is that I let you sleep in my bed for five years! Now get away from me!' But Pettigrew was being insistent and begged to him. Ron didn't think twice and used his wand against him. With a loud bang, Peter retreated with a yelp and staggered forward to Hermione. When Hermione moved back in horror, he turned to Neville but Neville was already out of arm's reach before he could utter a word.

'Harry…Harry…' croaked Pettigrew to the raven-haired Gryffindor and kneeling in front of him. 'James wouldn't have wanted to kill me…he would've understand me…he would've shown me mercy…'

'That's enough,' snarled Black, seizing him by the shoulders with Lupin and pulling him away from Harry and to the floor. 'You sold Lily and James to Voldemort and killed them in the process,' Peter and the others flinched, 'Do you deny it?' Then Pettigrew burst into tears, cowering on the floor and looking like an oversized bald baby.

'He – he was taking over everywhere!' gasped Pettigrew. 'Wh-what's was there to be gained by refusing him? He would've k-killed me!'

'THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!' roared Black and Pettigrew cowered on the floor even further. 'DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS LIKE WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!'

'You should have realized,' said Lupin quietly as he and Black stood shoulder to shoulder and raising their wands, 'if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter.'

Both Hermione and Neville closed their eyes and turned away. Ron's blood ran cold and he shouted, 'NO!' but he didn't realize Harry shouted as well, saying the same word to the two grown men. Lupin and Black looked shocked and stared at the two, most particularly at Harry. 'You can't kill him,' said Harry softly. 'You can't.'

'Potter's right,' agreed Ron and the others turned to watch him. 'If you're going to kill him, how are you Black going to be free without any shred of evidence that you're innocent? You are still considered, amongst wizardkind, a mass murderer,' he pointed out.

'We can take him up to the castle,' said Harry. 'We'll hand him over to the Dementors…He can go to Azkaban where he belongs…just don't kill him.'

Peter suddenly flung his arms around Harry's knees. 'Harry! You – thank you – it's more than I deserve -'

But Harry threw the small balding man off him with a disgusting look on his face. 'Don't touch me. And you're wrong. You don't deserve more to be in Azkaban. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this because – because I reckon my dad wouldn't want his friends to become killers like you – just for you.'

Both Lupin and Black glanced at each other before lowering their wands. 'Very well,' nodded Lupin. 'Stand aside, Harry. Don't worry, I'll just tie him up.' When Harry stepped aside, Lupin pointed his wand at Pettigrew and thin cords shot out from the end, wrapping and tying themselves up around Pettigrew's body until he was fully bounded and gagged. After that, Black pulled Pettigrew up with Snape's wand directed at his face.

'If you transform and try to escape, we will _kill_ you,' growled Black at Pettigrew who whimpered in response.

Everyone moved and settled themselves after a couple of minutes; In front were Lupin and Pettigrew who were chained together by the wrist and ankle, behind were Black and Harry whose wands were alight and ready just in case, then Hermione and Neville and lastly Ron who was able to stand up without wincing in pain from his broken leg and Snape who was still unconscious and was now floating upright, his head lolling sideways.

It was strange group, Ron thought as they make their way through the tunnel. Leading the way was a DA professor who was in fact a werewolf, a framed mass murderer, a weeping traitor who pretended to be a pet rat, three Gryffindor students, an unconscious yet floating Potions professor, and a limping Slytherin student.

Ron tuned out the noise he was hearing from the others and focused on his thoughts. He knew that the time wherein Pettigrew would set himself free was coming close and he had to do what he could in order for that to happen, even if he didn't want to in all honesty. He expected for Daphne and Theodore to do their part well so that no one would interfere with their plans, formed or not. Ron could see the end of the tunnel and the beat of his heart began to rise. 'It's almost time,' he whispered, gripping his wand tighter as he limped forward.

Lupin and Pettigrew went out of sight as they climbed up the entrance, followed by Harry and Black and the others. Ron carefully made his way up, feeling his surroundings in alert. The moment he and unconscious Snape got out of the passageway, the moon's light shed over them.

Then, Hermione shrieked. 'He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!'

Few feet away from the group, Lupin and Pettigrew stood together and Lupin bended over and his body went rigid and shook violently. Black raised his hand to stop them.

Peter took this chance and began to shrink. Harry, out of instinct, ran forward with his wand raised.

'Harry! _HARRY!_' cried Neville, shocked of what his best friend did just now.

'Come back here! You're going to get hurt -!' said Hermione in panic but Harry's words cut across her.

'No! I'm not going to let him get away!' he responded with so much determination.

It was total chaos. Black's eyes widened in horror and shouted to the others, 'Run! All of you! I'll take care of Harry! Just go!' he quickly transformed into his Animagus form and bounded toward Harry's direction, completely abandoning Lupin and Pettigrew.

But both Hermione and Neville didn't listen and went after Harry. Ron couldn't help but groan and directed his wand at them. '_Stupefy!_'

Luckily for Neville, he stumbled on the grass and saw the red flash of light coming from Ron's direction. 'What are you doing?' yelled Neville angrily which surprised Ron for a moment.

'Trying to save you and Granger's arses from becoming a werewolf, obviously,' snarled Ron as he aimed for another stunner at him. 'Stay still, you twit!'

'Don't call me that!' Neville launched himself at Ron and the two were on the ground. 'Hermione! Go get Harry!' he shouted to the Gryffindor girl who stopped and was struck at the sight of the two.

'You – are – being – stupid!' growled Ron, trying and struggling to overpower Neville but with his other leg bandaged, he couldn't do it immediately. Then he heard snarling noises of two animals and Ron assumed it was Black in his dog form and Lupin who was now completely transformed into a werewolf. 'You're going to get us in danger!'

Suddenly, a flash of red light struck Neville on the back and he slumped over Ron, unconscious. Ron heaved him away from himself and tried to stand up while looking around. Few feet away from him was Hermione, and she was also on the ground, unconscious as well. But before he could look elsewhere, a spell struck him from his right side. He struggled to turn and see who cursed him but his vision was growing darker, but he fell on the ground and knew no more.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I would like to apologize for this chapter. It's very similar to what happened in Canon but the thing is, there's hardly anything to change since Ron is set on freeing Peter Pettigrew in order to fulfill the prophecy he had seen in his vision.<strong>_

_**The next chapter will fill up the gaps of this chapter and you will see Theodore and Daphne's coordination, hopefully. And there will also be another scene about Ron with a particular character and another one nearing the end. Possibly the next one would be the last one of Ron's third year. So fast. Well, it's bound to be since it's in Ron's point of view and most of the chapters revolves too much about Harry, which is of course important in every sense ahahaha.**_

_**As I've promised, I will give you guys some Weasley fun 'facts' or Weasley-related information tidbits and the speculations I've made regarding Rowling's choice and creation of this particular family. I might also thrown in some Slytherin or Slytherin-related notes. And here's the first one: **_

_**The Weasel is one of the two animals that can kill the Mythical Basilisk.**__** The Weasel's stench or odor can kill the Basilisk. However, the Weasel will also die in the process.**_


	23. Chapter 22

Darkness.

He couldn't feel himself, or see or hear except his own thoughts. It was dark and silent and it was ringing madly to his ears. It felt like ages but an echoed voice spoke from afar until Ron could tell it was close to him. "Are you listening to me, boy? Look at me."

Ron tried to speak but nothing came out.

The voice let out an irritated sigh. "Open your eyes," it said impatiently. "Don't wonder how. Just do it."

And he did. Ron was flabbergasted. The darkness was gone and he was already in a white room with misty grayish-white smoke just below his knees. In front of him stood a tall man with long jet-black hair tied in a braid, silver-blue eyes, a strong jaw, and pale skin. He wore robes that looked similar to wizarding robes but very much different at the same time due to the patterns and cuts incorporated on it. And in his left hand, he was carrying a huge ancient-looking book.

"Don't look at me like that." snapped the man, causing Ron to jump slightly and back away. "I've been wanting to speak with you, radish boy."

"What did you call me?" gaped Ron, surprised with his way of talking. He didn't seem like the type of person (if he was) to talk in that manner.

"Your face gets really red when you're embarrassed or angry." he said without much care. "Now sit."

"There's no –" before he could finish, there were two white marble seats on his right side along with a marble-made circular table. He glanced at the man with suspicion before taking a seat. "If you don't –"

"I do mind, so let's get down to business." said the man as he slammed the book on the table with a loud thud and opened it. "You, Ronald Bilius Weasley, are in heaps of trouble. Oh yes, you've broke a lot of rules and you gave me more work than I what I usually do –"

Ron couldn't understand what the man was ranting about. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?" he demanded.

"You, attempting to change the future of a number of people." he said flatly and stopped flipping through the pages of the book. "What I don't like about mortals is that they like to play God when in fact, they're not. Just like you. You're trying to change a number of things that should happen in the future as it is already written by this book." He stood up and leaned over to Ron, casting a large shadow over the boy. "Do you know who I am?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" said Ron sarcastically, throwing daggers at him.

The man gave a haughty smirk. "I'm Fate."

The redhead stared at him in disbelief. "You can't be Fate –" he argued.

"And why not?" he retorted with an eyebrow raised. "I've been watching you and I didn't like what you did when you were eleven. Even until now."

"And that is?" challenged Ron.

"Being sorted to Slytherin instead of Gryffindor." he said bluntly and smirked after seeing Ron's gobsmacked expression.

"W-what? I'm supposed to be in Gryffindor -?" said Ron hoarsely, staring the man who called himself Fate.

"That's right, you could've been sorted to the very House you wanted to be sorted in," he said slowly as if torturing the redhead. "but you have to think of changing the _fate_ of some of your family members. So it's technically your own fault why you're so alone. You just made yourself an outcast." He finished, his lips curling slightly.

"What do you want from me?" he questioned, giving Fate a steady look.

"A vow from you." he said simply. "That you're not going to change any event –"

"There's no bloody way in Merlin's rotten eye sockets I'll ever agree with that!" snarled Ron as he stood up. "Do you really expect me to ignore everything I've seen and pretend it won't happen? What do you take me for? An idiot?"

"Yes." answered Fate with a small yawn. "You would've been funny to watch if you were sorted in Gryffindor, mind you." He sat down on his seat and continued as if no one interrupted him. "Now, I'm not going to waste any more time. I'm a busy man. I've been doing this job before your ancestors came to be so you ought to give me due respect or I'll give you a harder time than you can imagine." When Ron didn't speak, Fate continued. "So Weasley, what do you know about changing the future?"

"Changing the future will create a different outcome, distinct from its supposed result." answered Ron as if it was that.

"Not the exact answer I'm looking for." said Fate while shaking his head. "Changing the future is far more complex than a simple cause and effect. It's like water – if you drop a small pebble, it'll cause a ripple on the surface, causing a distortion. The bigger the pebble, the bigger the ripple it'll cause and it's not going to stop at one point. It'll continue to affect others until it reached to the point where it won't give an impact to the other events. Now you understand me?'

Ron could understand what the man was telling him. "Alright then, I get what you're trying to come across –"

"No, you're not." cut across Fate. "You don't understand. You're still planning on changing those people's future."

"Well I'm not going to let it happen to them!" said Ron angrily, standing up and slamming his hands on the table. "They're my family! I'm going to do everything I can in order to keep them safe –"

"And what about Sirius Black?" he interjected. "He's not an immediate family member to you. He's just a once-removed second cousin on your father's side. Why did you decide to help him?"

Ron glared at him. "Because he deserves it. He doesn't belong in Azkaban and any sane person who would know the truth would think the same way."

"Yes, yes. You're right." drawled Fate, not looking at him as if he was uninteresting. "But why bother? He's not your responsibility, is he?" Shaking his head, he looked directly into Ron's eyes and said, "Why would you put yourself into danger just for that man? Thankfully enough, you let Peter Pettigrew escape so the probability of the actual next occurrence will most likely happen by seventy-eight percent instead of thirty." As if sensing what Ron was thinking, he continued, "Contrary to what you're thinking right now, I am not allowed to meddle with any mortal affairs. Breaking my own rules is much worse than you breaking them."

"But you're already –" started Ron.

"There's a difference between interfering and striking a deal with the meddler." said Fate airily. "I can't stop you and whatever you want to do but I can discourage you from taking further action." Flipping a page, he said, "But that's beside the point, it is wrong to change what is due to happen. You're creating imbalance of your world."

"So you just want me to let things happen?" argued Ron. "Let You-Know-Who destroy everything! That's mad!"

Fate made an impatient noise. "If he's your main concern, just wait a bit longer. He won't be staying much longer in the realm of the living. It may not be obvious but he's still mortal. You do know that since you let Pettigrew escape."

"You mean he's not really immortal?" the redhead questioned, hoping to hear it. _If I'm able to know it, then there's a likely chance my family is safe. You-Know-Who will be gone much sooner –_

"Sorry, not telling you." he said loftily as he shut the book abruptly. "Section 7 of Article 20 states that I, Fate, am sworn not to divulge any information of the future to any mortal, whether male or female, from the ages 5 until 250 years of age, with or without life-harming diseases –"

"Okay, I get it." said Ron irritably, scowling. "You won't tell me. Honestly, you remind me of Percy."

"Don't you compare me to your third older brother, Weasley." said Fate, looking thoroughly offended. "I can't believe you would insult me like that –" he let out a huff and said in his usual bored yet stern tone, "but anyway, we're going far away from the very reason why I'm here talking to you: Don't change the future." he said flatly.

"No." said Ron defiantly, crossing his arms and continued to glare the man before him.

Fate looked miffed. "You think that by changing the future, you can save your family?" he said, his lips curling into a sneer. "You might as well turn it worse! The next thing you'll know, Frederick Weasley won't be the only one who will be gone but also the others. I'm telling you, you're only making things worse than they already are."

But Ron wouldn't hear any of it. "You can't stop me. I'm the only one who can decide what future I get, not you."

Fate glared at him but sighed massaged his temples. "You're really not going to listen to me, are you? Sometimes, people like you make me want to break my own rules so that the balance will still be there." Shaking his head, he said to him, "Fine, I'll let you be. However," he paused, giving Ron a steely look, "you better keep in mind of your actions. You should be able to carry the burden if something doesn't go the way as you planned." he said finally with a scowl. He stood up and picked up his book. "I don't want to see you, turnip ears." he said flatly as he approached Ron. He raised his left hand and flicked his index finger on the boy's forehead.

Suddenly, Ron was lifted off from the ground and was pushed away from Fate with great force. "Argh -!" he yelled.

Ron thrashed wildly until he realized he was lying on a bed. He looked around and saw the familiar walls of the Hospital Wing. He was back in reality. "…honestly Theodore, if this is how Ronald sleeps in your dorm, I don't know how you and the others survive." Daphne's voice drifted over to Ron's left side.

He turned his head and finally saw Daphne and Theodore sitting not so far away from where he was, talking amicably amongst each other.

Theodore's eyes flickered momentarily toward Ron's direction and said, "You're awake."

"How long was I out?" asked Ron to the two as he sat up.

"Not too long," shrugged Theodore. "It's already past breakfast if you're wondering." he added, watching Ron's expression.

Ron nodded. He glanced over to the other beds and saw no one else. "Where are the others? Do you know what happened?" he questioned seriously.

"I thought you'd never ask," smirked Daphne as she sat down on the edge of Ron's bed and began telling him.

_Since Ron left by their side, the two waited as they were told until it became awkward on Daphne's point of view. Worse was that Pansy came and tried to pry on what they were doing, asking numerous questions that the other Slytherin girl managed to answer without breaking a sweat. After that, Theodore then suggested they should have dinner, noting that it would take a while before the others would come out from where they went to from the passageway. _

_When they were done eating, they bid the others and returned to the grounds where the saw Snape making his way to the Whomping Willow. "Do you think -?" asked Daphne, staring at the Slytherin Head in surprise._

"_It seems to be," nodded Theodore. "and now we wait." The two stood still with Daphne bringing up a couple of topics to break the silence. For what it seemed like an hour, she sighed. _

"_How long have we been here?" she asked exasperatedly to Theodore. _

"_Thirty-eight minutes," said Theodore shortly. "It's almost nine in the evening."_

_She scowled after hearing the time. "Curfew. That's another problem we have to deal with –" she stopped for a moment when Theodore pointed his wand her and placed his right hand over her head before ruffling it roughly. "Hey! What are you doing -?"_

"_Dillusionment Charm." said Theodore simply before casting the spell himself._

"_And when did you learn this spell?"_

"_Easter Holidays." he replied. _

_Daphne peered over to the Whomping Willow and said slowly, "I think I'm seeing someone coming out – it's Lupin –"_

"_and Pettigrew." continued Theodore, gripping his wand tightly. "It's time. Let's go." The two went over to where the others were but stood far enough from them. _

"_Oh my, Lupin's transforming," gasped Daphne, clamping her mouth with her hand. "We should stay away – he might smell us –"_

"_You're probably right but there's a lot of commotion going on for him to notice us." said Theodore. "There's Weasley." He looked to where Ron was and watched as he shot two Stunning spells at Hermione and Neville who ran toward Harry, who ran where Pettigrew and Lupin were standing. "This could get ugly."_

_Daphne rolled her eyes. "You think?" She took out her wand from her robes and shot a Stunning Spell at Hermione's back._

_Theodore didn't reply and casted his own Stunning spell, aiming at Neville. He looked around and saw the werewolf bolting toward the Forbidden Forest; he noticed Harry and another man he believed to be Sirius Black were nowhere to be seen. "Potter's gone. And so is Black."_

"_Even Pettigrew," noted Daphne who watched Pettigrew the rat scamper through the grass and into the Forbidden Forest just like Lupin the werewolf. _

_The weedy boy glanced over to Snape's direction and stepped closer. He took notice of the man's state and undid the spell casted on him. Snape fell back and landed on the ground, still motionless. But a moment later, he saw his hand moved slightly. He pointed his wand at the sprawled man on the ground and muttered, "Confundo." Snape's partially-opened eyes became glassy and Theodore said, "Stupefy." A flash of red lighted erupted from his wand and hit Snape directly, causing him to go unconscious again._

"_Daphne, go back to the castle and find a professor, even Filch." he said. "Make up a story; I'm sure they'll believe in you once they see them like this."_

Ron frowned slightly after hearing their part. "Why didn't you wake me up?" he asked.

"It would've been more believable if you stayed unconscious." shrugged Theodore.

Daphne learning closer and said lowly, "So, are you going to tell us what you couldn't yesterday?"

"About that…" grimaced Ron. "…you probably wouldn't believe me what I did."

"Just tell us." she insisted.

He opened his mouth when the door burst open and came in Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with his siblings. Theodore, with his quick reaction, casted a Disillusionment Charm on himself and stepped away from Ron's bed until he was out of the room swiftly. "Oh Ron, I am so worried I –" said Mrs. Weasley when she stopped and saw Daphne sitting on Ron's bed, leaning toward Ron who was sitting upright on the bed.

The Weasley family stared at Daphne who didn't seem uncomfortable in the least. Ron felt the awkwardness weighing on them. "Er – Mum," began Ron but Daphne stood up and approached Mrs. Weasley to his shock.

"Good day," said Daphne brightly, wearing a charming smile on her face. "You must be Ronald's mother."

"Why – yes, I am." said Mrs. Weasley in surprise. "And you are, dear -?"

"Daphne Greengrass." she introduced herself and gave a short yet graceful bow. "I've heard so much about you from Ronald, Mrs. Weasley –" Ron gaped at her, shocked even more of what she said for the next few minutes.

"Oh he did?" asked Mrs. Weasley, glancing over to Ron's direction with a look in her eye.

"Yes. I find myself wanting to meet you in person but I know it's quite rude to introduce myself improperly without Ronald's consent." she said sweetly. She turned to face Mr. Weasley and gave a small curtsy as well. "And you must be Mr. Weasley. It's a pleasure to meet you." she said to him.

Mr. Weasley looked mildly surprise but gave her the same respect. "It's nice to meet you too, Daphne." said Mr. Weasley kindly. "You're here to visit my son, I presume?"

"I am," confirmed Daphne. "I was very worried when I heard what happened to him –"

"N-no!" said Ron hoarsely, finally founding his voice. "She –"

"- and I visited him as early as I could," she continued as if she hadn't heard Ron trying to interrupt her.

Suddenly, both Fred and George stepped forward and shook hands with her in turn. "So you're really –" began Fred.

"- the Daphne Greengrass we've been –" continued George, grinning widely.

"- wondering about since last summer." the twins said in unison. Ron groaned. This couldn't possibly get worse.

"You're Frederick and George Weasley." said Daphne, eyeing the two in mild interest.

"You can call me Fred." said Fred to her with a playful wink as if they were already close friends.

"Oh I don't know Frederick," said George in his oily tone. "Fred doesn't sound fitting to you."

Percy let out an exasperated sigh. "Stop it, you two."

The twins ignored him. "Our dear younger brother was very stubborn in denying you." said George, glancing at Ron's changing expression and smirked slightly as Ron's face went pale. "He even said you two aren't friends –"

"We're not!" blurted out Ron.

"Ronald!" scolded Mrs. Weasley. "Mind your manners."

"But –" said Ron but cringed under his mother's glare. _This isn't happening. No, no, no -_

"Ronald is very shy in his own way." noted Daphne with a convincing thoughtful expression on her face. "He and I usually talk alone –" Ron blanched, thinking it was mostly true but not in that sense, "but I do understand him." Then she and Mrs. Weasley began talking about girl-related things and about his relationship with her (which was almost non-existent in the first place and until now). "I enjoyed talking with you Mrs. Weasley," she said softly to her. "I hope we can do this some other time."

"You are welcome to visit our home if you have time –" said Mrs. Weasley.

"Mum, don't -!" gasped Ron, horrified she would even suggest that. "Greengra – I mean Daphne," he said hastily, looking at the blonde Slytherin girl. "You don't need to go to come over –"

"I'd love to." said Daphne, ignoring Ron completely. "I better go now. I don't want to disrupt your time with Ronald any longer." she faced Ron (he could see the faint smirk playing on her lips) and said, "I hope you get well soon, Ronald." She gave him a playful wink only for him to see and strode out of the Hospital Wing.

Everyone's gaze fell on Ron this time. "So…" said Mrs. Weasley, eyeing on her son beadily.

"It's not what you think –" said Ron tensely.

"Don't you lie to us, Ronald." said Mrs. Weasley sternly. "I don't see the reason why you would hide this from us. She seems like a nice girl –" Ron couldn't help but snort, earning a fiercer glare from his mother. "- and I do mean what I said earlier," she continued, watching her son closely. "You will invite her to our home and you will introduce her to us properly. Do I make myself clear?"

Ron looked helplessly from his mother to his father. "Fine." he relented grudgingly.

Both Fred and George covered their mouths to muffle their snickers. Percy shook his head while Ginny stared at Ron with a bewildered yet amused look. The whole Weasley family talked amongst each other after Mrs. Weasley gave a sermon to Ron. The twins teased him and Percy tried to do his best to stop their antics. Ginny insisted him to tell her what kind of person Daphne was like and everything that was happening around him drove him mad. What it seemed like hours, their visit was finally over.

"Now rest until you feel better, dear." said Mrs. Weasley motherly to him, pecking her lips on Ron's forehead affectionately.

"Yes Mum." said Ron, his face up to his ears flushing red. When all of them left the Hospital Wing, he let out a sigh, slumping heavily against the pillows. _Why do I deserve this?_

* * *

><p>As soon as Ron got out of the Hospital Wing having his left leg healed, he was told by Snape (Ron noticed the Slytherin Head was very much furious which he could guess what it was all about), to go to Headmaster's office wherein he was asked to be one of the witnesses to testify Black's innocence. Ron accepted, wanting to see the proceedings and hoping that his efforts were not in vain. He, Harry, Neville and Hermione, attended the hearing and gave out their own testimonies to the press and Wizengamot including showing their memories through the use of the Pensieve that was owned by the Ministry, it was more than enough that Black's name was cleared after thirteen years.<p>

The news of Black's freedom lasted for almost two weeks. As far as Ron knew after reading a number of articles from the Daily Prophet, Black received a total amount of two-million Galleons as compensation for the number of years he was imprisoned in Azkaban. It seemed that a lot of people accepted the turn of events easily, although there were some who doubted the results (there was one third-year Hufflepuff who ranted that the Wizengamot was being paid off by Black to gain his freedom).

Ron was sitting at the edge of the lake with his feet sank in the water, feeling the coolness against his skin. He wasn't being badgered by the students unlike earlier, wherein most of them wanted to find out what happened since Harry, Neville and Hermione wouldn't say a word. As usual, he snarled at them and threatened the younger years to leave him alone or they would get hexed by him without thinking twice.

As he wade his feet in the water, his thoughts drifted off to the dream he had at the Hospital Wing. The dream was as clear as day and he could remember the whole event as if he just had it few moments ago. He wouldn't want to believe it but the words the man who called himself as Fate said still rang inside his mind. _You would've been in Gryffindor…_

He shook his head furiously. _Don't think of it,_ he said stubbornly to himself, but he couldn't help it. The fact that he was a few seconds' away from being Sorted to the House of Lions during that night made him feel ill at himself. The very thought of it made him, for the first time, scared. He thought he would be thrilled, but hearing it from another person felt different. Questions came barging in with 'What ifs' and 'What would' punctuated in every sentence. He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice someone sitting beside him.

"Hello Ron." Luna's voice echoed dreamily to Ron's left side.

"Oh – hi." said Ron in abrupt response, snapping his head and glancing to his left almost immediately.

"You seem to be in deep thought," she stated as if it was normal pointing things like this out. "I don't think the cause are the Wrackspurts."

Ron didn't respond immediately and continued to stare at the lake. But then he asked, "You believe in every mad things that can't be seen, right?"

Luna regarded his question and replied, "Just because we can't see doesn't mean it's not there. That's why we as human beings, whether Muggle of magical, have to urge to find and discover things on our own."

"I guess you're right," he said slowly. The words of Fate still rang in his mind. "If, for example, I were a Gryffindor, do you think I'll be different? Will things change if that happened?" he asked, desperate for an answer.

"Are you not satisfied of yourself right now?" She asked distantly, her misty eyes staring straight into Ron's crystal blue orbs. "It must be hard being in Salazar's House, but are you ashamed of what you are right now?" as if not expecting an response from him, she continued, "If you were sorted in Gryffindor, I do believe you'll be different in a certain way, that you'll be exemplifying Gryffindor's qualities more rather than Slytherin's. I also believe that you'd view me differently like the others."

The redhead stared at her, awed at her words. "Do you really think I'd call you Loony?" he said slowly, his eyebrows knitted.

Luna hummed and nodded. "I am very much different from the others. Mostly everyone would react the same to those who are not like them. But that is not the point. Whether or not you'll be in Gryffindor, you'll still be the same Ron Weasley." she added. "It's up to you what kind of person you wish to be."

Regardless of how blunt she said it, her words eased him inside. "Thanks." he said with a small smile. "So, which electives are you going to take?" he asked, decided to change the topic to a lighter one. He was feeling much better and the words of Fate didn't bother him as much as earlier.

* * *

><p>At ten o'clock in the morning, almost all of the students were inside of the Hogwarts Express, looking forward to go back home and enjoy the summer holidays. Ron was seated at the last right-side compartment of the train, beside the windowsill and staring outside. He already received the results of his examinations and he was pleased that he got an E on Potions and some of the other subjects, even Muggle Studies.<p>

He heard the door slid open and glancing to his left, he saw Daphne and Theodore entering. "What are you doing here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at them.

"You haven't told us what you did before you went off somewhere that time." said Daphne bluntly, crossing her arms and waiting impatiently to his answer. Theodore merely nodded once, leaning his back on the seat to make himself comfortable.

Ron sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you, but I'll make this quick."

_He made all the way to the third floor and reached the entrance of the headmaster's office. He remembered that the passwords that Dumbledore would use were sweets so he said all of the sweets he could think of. "Licorice Wands!" he shouted but the gargoyle didn't budge. "Sugar Quills! Chocolate Frogs! Sherbet Lemon! Oh come on!" he let out a frustrated sigh. "Let me in!"_

"_Not until you give the right password, carrot top." responded the gargoyle, further infuriating the redhead Slytherin._

"_Fine!" he growled. "Blood Pops! Acid Pops! Fizzing Whizbee! Cockroach Clusters! Bertie Blott's Every Flavor Bean -!" to his surprise, the gargoyle moved aside and revealed the circular moving staircase. "Right, I'll go up now." He stepped in the staircase and stood still as it moved upward until he reached the door. He took a deep breath and knocked twice, waiting for the headmaster to let him in._

"_Enter," Dumbledore's voice echoed from inside. Ron pushed the door open and saw the old benign wizard sitting behind the mahogany desk. Fawkes, the phoenix, was perched on his shoulder and seemed to be content. "Mr. Weasley, what can I do to help you?" he asked, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles._

"_Professor," he started, his mind reeling. "I wanted to tell you something – I know I should have informed you or any of the professors but I thought otherwise."_

_Dumbledore watched him, a look of mild wonder etched on his face. "And what is it do you wish to tell me?"_

"_It's about Sirius Black," he said slowly, earning the full attention of the headmaster. "I know how he's not able to be found by anyone – and I know other things you need to know –"_

"_Why didn't you approach any of your professors?" he questioned, frowning slightly in concern. "Did he blackmail you, Mr. Weasley?"_

_Ron shook his head. "No, he didn't. I decided not to tell anyone. But sir," he continued, trying not to get far from what he wanted to tell in the first place, "He's innocent. He wasn't responsible for the murders of the 12 Muggles – it was Peter Pettigrew's doing –"_

"_Mr. Pettigrew has long passed away for twelve years." he said delicately._

"_No he isn't! He's alive! He's been in hiding for twelve years! Please, listen to me," he insisted, trying and failing not to raise his voice. "He's an Animagus in the form of a rat! He's my pet rat! Was my pet rat – you don't believe me, do you?" he said as frustration began bubbling up inside him._

_Dumbledore didn't respond right after. But when he did, he said slowly, "Mr. Weasley, if I may ask, if what you are saying is true, then how you got this information? Did someone tell you?"_

"_I –" he stopped for a moment, thinking yet again. _Should I tell him?_ But he already knew the answer to that question. "I saw it in a vision I had when I held on Peter – Scabbers I mean – before I went in the Hogwarts express. I was eleven back then." he answered. _There, I said it._ "I had another vision just last year before Christmas about him and it confirmed that Peter Pettigrew is a rat animagus." He didn't explain any further to what extent he, Daphne and Theodore did in order to gather the rest of the information._

"_Are you a Seer?" asked the headmaster carefully, his gaze boring on Ron's blue orbs._

"_Yes," he whispered. "but I don't make prophecies like the Divination professor – I know that because I saw it earlier. She will say one in front of Potter which I think is happening right now."_

"_And what did Professor Trelawney prophesized?" asked Dumbledore again, leaning closer._

"_That You-Know-Who will rise again with the help of Pettigrew who will escape tonight before midnight." he told him. "That's why I went to you – you're the only one he fears. Once Pettigrew escapes, you can help Black get his freedom and Potter can live with him –"_

"_I'm afraid," interrupted Dumbledore as he closed his eyes tiredly, "that cannot be done."_

_Ron stared at him. "What do you mean – you're Dumbledore! You defeated Grindelwald! You're the Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock –"_

"_All are mere titles the Ministry gave me," said the old wizard. "By giving it to me shows to the whole wizarding world that the Ministry is held in good light. I am merely a representation or symbol for them to use." he told him. _

"_Even so but I'm sure you have some leverage at the Ministry! Why won't you help an innocent man to get his freedom back?" said Ron angrily. He was shocked and furious at the reaction his headmaster was showing that he was no longer keeping his temper at bay. "What are you playing at?"_

"_Even if I tell you, you won't understand –"_

"_Try me! I'll understand!" said Ron through gritted teeth. "I've seen people dying through my visions and I can't even tell them their fate. I've seen the looks of their faces when they lost their loved ones. You don't know how hard it is for me to keep quiet and pretend I see nothing and be happy like the others are feeling right now! So please, I'll even beg on bended knees, to tell me why you don't want to help Black. I swear I won't tell anyone what you will tell me."_

"_There's no need for you to do that." Dumbledore exhaled deeply and Ron though he look older than he was right now. "It would do great harm if I let Harry live with Black. He must stay and live with the Dursleys. It is for his own good." Seeing Ron's confused expression, he continued. "Do you know why Harry is called the Boy-Who-Lived?"_

"_Because…he survived You-Know-Who's attack and defeated him?" said Ron, thinking._

"_That is the simplified version of what happened." he said gravely. "On that night, Voldemort –" Ron flinched, "– went to the Potters. He took the lives of Lily and James Potter, but why couldn't he kill Harry? Because of Lily's sacrifice." He let out a sigh but went on. "the sacrifice she did was one of the ancient and most powerful spells. It's self-sacrifice to their loved ones. How many people do you know who would do the same as Lily did for her son?"_

"_My Mum would." said Ron at once._

_Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, your mother would be one of the few who could do it. Now, because of Lily's sacrifice, when Voldemort –" Ron flinched once more, "- tried to kill Harry, the spell backfired."_

"_But what's that got to do with Potter living with the Dursleys?" questioned Ron while frowning._

"_Lily's blood runs through Harry and therefore the protection will be there flowing inside him. And I trusted this protection so I delivered him to his only living relative, Petunia Dursley nee Evans. Lily's older sister." he explained. "Voldemort cannot touch him while he lives there."_

_Ron fell silent, the headmaster's words still reeling inside his head. "But you can cast tons of protective spells if Potter lives with Black – I've read what you said just now. It's the blood wards. I know it's powerful but it's not really as powerful if there is no emotional attachment such as love to the person being protected. From what I heard, the Potter doesn't like his relatives and that says a lot, professor." _

"_I still believe Harry will be safer living with his relatives." said Dumbledore firmly._

_Ron cursed mentally. Then, a thought came across and he bit his lip, thinking it was risky but it was worth a try. "I don't think you really cared for Potter," he said, watching the older wizard's expression carefully. "If you truly care for him, then you will do what it takes to make him happy. I may not be his friend but I know how important family is. Black is Potter's godfather and he has every right to take care of him. Black is his only family left and the Dursleys don't count. I'm sure Potter would appreciate it if you helped him set Black free."_

_Dumbledore watched Ron through his half-moon spectacles. "Mr. Weasley, what is it do you wish to tell me?"_

"_I'll tell you this bluntly, sir," said Ron. "If you don't help Potter and Black, then I'll tell them what I know – I promised I won't tell them what you told me, but I can tell them that I'm a Seer and I know of their future. You can't stop me and you can't modify my memories or make me take an Unbreakable Vow or contract because it's against the rules. And even if you did, my parents will find out and there will be hell to pay and that's you."_

"_It seems to me that you're…ah, blackmailing me." chuckled the headmaster._

_Ron smirked slightly. "No, not blackmailing sir. Just a deal between the two of us." He knew this was the only way but he had to do it. He knew he was doing the right decision._

When Ron was done, he waited for the other two's reaction. "I can't believe you did that." said Theodore, sounding mildly impressed.

"Neither do I," nodded Daphne. "you blackmailed Dumbledore –"

"It's not blackmail," Ron rolled his eyes. "Like I said, it's a deal –" he stopped abruptly, seeing the unconvinced looks of Theodore and Daphne. "- alright, it's blackmail. But that's beside the point, we managed to see an innocent man like Black free –"

"- and that makes us good people," said Theodore without care. "What a great way to celebrate our efforts."

Ron scowled at him. "That's part of it," he said testily. "Now we're going to have to prepare ourselves for what's to come. He will come back and by then, we will be ready."

"But how ready can we really be?" asked Daphne seriously, glancing at him.

"As much as we can,' said the redhead. "That's all we can hope for. All of us have the tools and means to get what we need. We'll just have to wait when we can use them in due time."

"Tell me, Weasley," said Theodore suddenly. "Are you planning on saving each and every person's lives like Potter and his Golden Trio group is doing? Because honestly speaking, that is not what I'm expecting with the agreement we have."

Ron stared at him blankly. "What did you just say? What Golden Trio?"

Both Daphne and Theodore glanced at one other before looking at Ron. "You don't know? Really Ronald, you can't be that thick," said Daphne. "It's what Potter's group is called amongst the student population. _The Golden Trio_," she said distastefully. "Personally speaking, it's definitely not an impressive name." Then her eyes opened wide as if something struck her. "I know, why don't we make a name for our group?"

"No," said Ron and Theodore flatly together.

She glared at the two boys. "Why not? It'll be more splendid than Potter's."

"Why bother?" snorted Ron. "What the use of naming a group when in fact there's no group to begin with?" Theodore nodded, showing his agreement with Ron's words.

"Don't be stupid," she said to him. "there's you, Theodore and I."

"Not buying it." said the two in unison.

This time Daphne ignored them. "Now what should I name -?"

Ron whispered to Theodore, "I can't believe she's mental. It's your fault for mentioning Potter's group name."

"You should know from the very beginning that females are mental." said Theodore sternly.

"Oh how about 'The Silver Triad'?" she said in enthusiasm. "It's better sounding than Golden Trio! And Gold is overvalued. Silver is classy and –"

"Stop babbling," sighed Ron, ignoring the glare she threw at him. "Anyway, it's almost time for the train to leave. You two ought to go back to your compartments." When the two left, he stared out the window and mused until he heard the train whistle loudly, signaling its leave. The whole train ride was uneventful; sometime after lunch, Ginny and Luna visited him and stayed in the compartment for a while, the twins popped in and made teasing remarks toward Ron and his so-called 'Lady-friend' which caused him to try and hex them but failed, and other small bits that seemed to pass by like a blur.

When the train stopped at King's Cross Station, Ron poked out his head and glanced over the crowd to find his parents. It didn't take him long because he was able to see them due to the colour of their fiery red hair. He dragged his trunk out of the train and made his way to them when all of a sudden Daphne's voice rang across the station, saying "I'll be seeing you soon, Ronald!" Ron's face turned beet red and hunched his shoulders to avoid the curious and amused looks of the onlookers.

"Hi Mum, Dad," he mumbled as he finally reached them. He didn't dare look at their faces knowing how their expressions look like.

"I missed you so much!" said Mrs. Weasley as she embraced him, much to Ron's embarrassment. "I can't believe you've grown so much –"

"You've just seen me two weeks ago." pointed out Ron, his flush disappearing from his face. His other siblings arrived and the whole family began to talk animatedly with the usual banter going on.

As they talked, someone in rich black robes approached them. Mr. Weasley noticed the wizard and blinked in mild surprise. "Mr. Black," he said, acknowledging the wizard's presence. "I hope you are feeling well." Despite the difference of wealth, Mr. Weasley didn't seem perturb with the state of clothing other man was wearing.

Black gave a short smile. "I am, thank you for asking. And you don't need to call me Mr. Black, it reminds me of my father –" a horrible look went across his face as he said this. "- so please call me Sirius." Standing behind him was no other than Harry and Ron noticed how pleased he was to be standing alongside with his godfather. Ron held a smile to himself; he knew he did the right decision and whoever knew this would be proud of him.

"Then you can call me Arthur." responded Mr. Weasley easily.

Ron glanced up but noticed someone else. "Professor Lupin, you're here," he said.

Lupin walked up to them with a pleasant smile on his face. "I'm no longer your professor, Mr. Weasley. Remus is enough."

Black cleared his throat. "If I may ask your permission, I would like to speak to your son, Ron, for a moment." he said in his most polite tone.

Everyone looked at Ron who looked somewhat bewildered. Then Mr. Weasley said after giving a fleeting look over his son, "You may."

"Thank you," smiled Black. "I promise it won't be long." He faced Harry and said something to him (Ron assumed he told the raven-haired Gryffindor to wait for a moment) before gesturing him to follow. Ron slowly trailed him behind and when the two were a few feet away, he waited. "So," he began, trying to break the silence. "How are you feeling? Your leg is healed, right?"

Ron nodded shortly. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in a minute." he replied. He wasn't sure what the older man wanted from him since he knew well enough Black didn't favour anyone from Slytherin. "Right, so is there anything you want to tell me?" he asked bluntly. "This is getting awkward, you see."

"I quite agree." nodded Black, relieved that they shared the same thoughts. "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for hurting you while I was in my Animagus form, and –"

"You don't need to apologize for something you didn't really regret saying." he interrupted, eyeing him carefully. "I read some things about you and I can tell you don't like Slytherins in general, especially Snape. And I'm not going to apologize for the things I've said to you during that time either."

Black seemed slightly taken aback at first but recovered. "You don't beat around the bush, eh?" he mused. "But I must admit you are right. I never liked Slytherins." he said edgily with a dark look flashed across his face. "And the fact that you're a Weasley who's sorted to that house makes no sense and it made me wonder how different you could be from your family."

Ron let out a snort. "I won't turn into a dark wizard if that's what you're thinking. Besides, you as Sirius Black, no matter what you do, can't really like someone from the House of Snakes. But, as Padfoot, you might at least tolerate someone like me."

"Fair point," he nodded once. "Padfoot has a soft spot for you. Anyway, let's just pretend there are no Houses to begin with. You're just Ron Weasley, son of Molly and Arthur and I'm Sirius Black, someone who's taken a second chance to live again." with a wave of his wand, a medium-sized box appeared his hands (Ron suspected he did some kind Transfiguration or Charm spell) and offered it to him. "Take this," he said.

The redhead looked at the parcel in suspicion but accepted it anyway. But then, he felt something move inside. "What the –?" he said in surprise, his eyes widening. He pulled the lid open and to his shock, a white puppy with some black patch on his back and around his ears and eyes was inside, staring into his blue orbs.

Black smiled ruefully. "Since you lost a pet because of me, I thought you could do with a new one. He's only one month and a half old, a mixed breed of a Crup and a Labrador."

Ron couldn't help but stare at the puppy. "I – you – thanks." he said in awe.

"Seems I got it right," said the older wizard triumphantly. "You're a dog person." He checked the time on his wizarding watch and said, "I won't take much of your time anymore, Harry, Remus and I have a lot to catch up. Enjoy with your new pet." He bid him and to the Weasleys afar with a nod and beckoned Harry. Remus said his farewells as well and joined Black and Harry out of the station.

"What did Mr. Black give you – oh, a puppy?" gasped Mrs. Weasley in surprise as Ron returned.

"A part-Crup from the looks of it," noted Mr. Weasley, peering at the dog's two tails.

"Have you named it?" asked Ginny eagerly, gazing the puppy with gooey eyes.

Ron thought of a name and said firmly, "Damon." He didn't expect that someone, especially Black, would give him a present, most especially a puppy in replacement of Pettigrew. His heart swelled in glee as he held the puppy carefully and firmly in his hands, making his first contact with his new pet.

"You do know the responsibility of taking care of a dog, especially a part-Crup," said Mr. Weasley to his son. "Crups are known to eat almost everything –"

"Sounds like the perfect pet for ickle Ronniekins," grinned Fred. "Your stomach's an endless pit."

"I know, Dad." said Ron before shooting a slightly annoyed look at Fred. He already knew it would take a huge responsibility in raising a dog rather than an owl, but it didn't matter to him. All he thought was that he was going to enjoy this summer holidays more than the last one.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And this is the end of Ron' third year.<strong>_

_**I hope some of the scenes explained or covered what happened before and during the earlier chapter. Without Snape's testimony and Dumbledore's support, Black is most likely to be free. I know it seems like Dumbledore here isn't willing to help out Sirius for the greater good but just to let you guys know, I am not a Dumbledore-hater or basher.**_

_**Sorry, no Pigwidgeon in this story. Anyway, a part-Crup is, I think a suitable pet for Ron for a couple of reasons. And yes, I made one OC. And he'll the only OC I'll ever be making. And he will appear two or three more times. Lastly, what do you think about the name "Silver Triad"? Is Daphne right that it sounds better than the Golden Trio? Ahaha well, I dunno. It's a name, after all.**_


	24. Chapter 23

"So…what _are_ you up to?" asked Pansy shrewdly.

"Whatever do you mean, Pansy?" Daphne asked casually before sipping tea from her cup.

The two of them were sitting comfortably on an expensive sofa in the sitting room. They were at the Greengrass manor which was situated on the outskirts of Hampshire. It was a huge Victorian home, with numerous bedrooms located on the second and third floors, one spacious ballroom, two studies, a library and other rooms for various needs. The walls were warm colors such as beige, cream white and light blue. As with other wizarding homes there were numerous wards around the manor to keep the Muggles from noticing their property.

"Don't you lie to me!" The brunette nearly shrieked. "You wouldn't normally call out someone's name in public, especially if that person is a Weasley!"

"Honestly Pansy, it's quite simple…" responded the Greengrass heiress as if she wanted to laugh. "It's a way for him to be more open with me, more at ease with me. That way, it will get easier for me to get him to follow anything I say without thinking twice. The thing about boys is that you have to know what makes them tick, what they want. It'll only be a matter of time until he's wrapped around my finger."

"And what will you do right after?"

"I'll throw him away, of course," said Daphne easily. "It's all fun and games, Pansy. He's not _that_ attractive."

Pansy nodded. "Of course he's not. He's not like Draco..."

Daphne wanted to roll her eyes but smiled brightly instead. "You're so right." They continued talking until Pansy decided to return home and pack her belongings for a one-week trip to Spain. When she left, Daphne let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin she's gone…You can come in now, Astoria."

Her younger sister looked up from book she was reading in the next room. "Is she gone?" she asked softly.

"Yes," the older Greengrass nodded.

"I don't know why you have to put up with someone like her, you're better than that."

Daphne sighed in semi-agreement, "You already know my reasons. And you know just as much as I do that I don't like people like her. It's just that I have to act like it in order to get what we want. You know our family motto."

"_Dépasser et Vaincre_."

Astoria shook her head lightly. "You have big dreams, Daphne."

"You would too if you put your mind to something you want to gain," pointed out Daphne with a smirk. "You're just too soft-spoken and modest for your own good."

"Maybe when I see something worth putting effort…" said Astoria as she walked toward the entrance. "Nothing I can think of would make me want to be with someone like Parkinson or Malfoy, he's such a – a -"

"A self-absorbed, egoistic, arrogant prat?" finished Daphne.

"Exactly," nodded the younger Greengrass. "I'd be really sorry for anyone who would end up with him. Anyway, mother told us to prepare. Next week's the Quidditch World Cup. She knows we both don't like it but she and father keep saying it's important we go."

"I know," said Daphne, flicking her hair with her finger. "About Malfoy, though-"

"I don't want to talk about any of them." said Astoria with a huff, her cheeks still pink. "I'll be going to the gardens now." Without hearing what her sister had to say, she walked out of the sitting room and was now out of sight.

Daphne chuckled. "She's so easily ruffled."

* * *

><p>"Theodore," called out a man in his 60s. He had a gaunt face, sleek black hair going white, hollow eyes and thin lips.<p>

"Yes father?" said Theodore as he stepped forward, inclining a small nod to the man sitting in his study.

"It will be the Quidditch World Cup in a week; we will be going there and meeting with the others." When Theodore didn't say anything, he continued. "You will be with Lucius' son as company while the adults talk. Do you understand?"

Theodore only gave a nod. "Will that be all, father?"

Mr. Nott nodded back. "You may leave. Order Skit to pack what is necessary to bring."

Theo left the room and walked leisurely up to his room at the end of the right wing on the third floor. He took out a book from the shelf and read it on the couch. "Skit," he called and Skit apparated inside the room with a loud crack.

"You is calling, Young Master Nott?" squeaked Skit, his ears flapping.

"You will prepare my clothes for Quidditch World Cup for next week. Understood?"

"Yes, Young Master."

When Skit was gone, Theodore continued to read. "Wonder if he's seen anything..."

* * *

><p>"Can you believe it?" asked Ginny with glee as she hopped on the bed. She began scratching Damon's head affectionately while looking at Ron.<p>

"Yeah, I know!" The Quidditch World Cup's going to take place right HERE in England and we get to see it…with our own eyes!"

A week earlier, Mr. Weasley arrived home from work and announced during dinner that they would be able to watch the game which earned shrieks and shouts of delight from the Weasley children (even Percy).

Other than that, a lot of things happened during summer. One of the most important concerned Fred and George: they were caught making prank items they proudly called "Weasley Wizarding Wheezes" one day when Mrs. Weasley cleaned their room. A shouting match occurred and Ron and Ginny were pleasantly surprised to say the least.

Secondly, Ron was catching up with what was going on in the Quidditch World and he'd come across the stranger he'd faintly remembered from one of his visions: Viktor Krum. He had been very surprised and fell off his bed after seeing his face in a Quidditch magazine with a "Who's Who" about the Bulgarian and Irish teams. The rest of the Summer had been nothing major, although good for the others: Percy got a job at the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Bill and Charlie were both coming home from Egypt and Romania respectively, and Ron was having a good time taking care of Damon.

"Who do you think will win?" Ginny asked in wonder. "I think Ireland will definitely win. They have the best Chasers this season -"

"But they don't have a Seeker like Krum!" countered Ron. Ever since he'd recognized Krum, he'd been reading anything about the Quidditch player and he was even more surprised that he was still studying in his school, Durmstrang.

"He's only one player." pointed out Ginny.

"You sound like Charlie!" His comment earned himself a smirk from Ginny and in retaliation he threw a pillow at her face.

"That's uncalled for!" Ginny laughed as she threw the pillow back at Ron's face with good aim. "Ha!"

Damon let out a small bark, clearly enjoying the spectacle. The door suddenly opened and Ron's older brother Bill poked his head inside. "You two are making quite a ruckus here -" His words were stopped as a pillow hit his face, silencing him. "That's it, come on you two -" taking out his wand, he muttered an incantation and both Ron and Ginny stopped moving altogether.

"Hey, that's unfair!" said Ron, glaring slightly at Bill. "This isn't the Impediment Jinx, right?"

Bill simply grinned in return. "Nope, it isn't. And besides, there's no rule stating 'no wands'. Now you two should be sleeping or I'll go get Mum and you know what'll happen _then_."

"She always does that," said Ron dismissively. "Now will you let us go?" he added impatiently.

Bill waved his wand and now the two could finally move again. "There, happy?" he grinned cheekily as the two fell on the bed like a sack of potatoes. "I know you and the twins are excited to watch the World Cup but you can save that energy for a couple of days. Keep up like this and you'll be sleeping at the Games."

"But it's still a few days away," piped up Ginny "And we're Weasleys. We don't tire easily!"

"She has a point," said Ron smugly.

Bill shook his head. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

When he left, both Ron and Ginny stared at each other. "Another round?" he asked but earned a smack on his face with a pillow in response. "I'll take that as a yes." After a couple of minutes, the two stopped and were lying on the bed, breathing heavily. "I'm tired," he said.

"Me too," agreed Ginny while she scratched Damon's forehead lightly. "I'm going back to my room." She stood up and stretched her arms while yawning.

"G'night Gin," said Ron back. "Sweet dreams of Potter." he added teasingly although he felt a little uneasy teasing his sister with her crush.

"Shove it, git!" said Ginny at him, throwing his pillow at him before leaving the room.

Ron shook his head and lied down on bed again. He let out a yawn. "Come on, Damon, off you go." He placed the young Crup down on his own pet-sized bed and ruffled him on the head playfully. Letting his hand hang off the edge of the bed to keep rubbing Damon's head, Ron fluttered off and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The room was dark and the only source of light was the roaring fireplace. There were three people inside: one was standing, his face filled with nervousness and trying his best to ignore the second man who was on the floor unmoving as a large snake slithered its way and opened its wide mouth. The third person sat in a High Chair, His face was gruesome; his face was white as sheet with slits passing for nostrils and his clammy figure was in fact a hideously deformed version of an infant .<p>

"Wormtail," the sitting man murmured to the standing figure.

"Yes, M-master?" squeaked the man as he stepped forward. The light from the fire hit his face and the man called Wormtail was none other than Peter Pettigrew.

"We will move out in two days' time." he said coldly. "After the Quidditch World Cup, we will meet my loyal servant. With his help, Harry Potter will be mine and dead by my wand."

Pettigrew bowed his head and nodded.

"Why so silent, Wormtail?" said the man in the high chair. "Come closer."

Hearing the cold yet forceful tone of his master's voice, Pettigrew stepped closer to him. Without warning, the man raised his wand at Pettigrew's forehead and said a word, "Legilimens." After a moment, the man raised his hand to his chin in a thoughtful manner.

"…Interesting."

"M-master? Is something wrong?" asked Pettigrew nervously.

"Do not fret, I won't break you down like I did to Bertha Jorkins." said the man cruelly. "However…I will find out whoever did it and what it means. But for now, you will still be of use."

"W-what do you m-mean – you'll k-kill me?" said Pettigrew hoarsely, staring wide-eyed at his master.

"If you were to become more a hindrance than an asset, Wormtail, then I will kill you." said his master. "Now, since Nagini is done with her meal, you will milk her. Go." he said with finality.

Pettigrew nodded vigorously and went to the snake his master referred to as Nagini. He didn't know why he returned to his master; he could've gone to another country far away from England and lived in peace in a different identity but he didn't. Instead, he went all the way to Albania and searched for the man who changed his life. The other reason was that he knew he had nowhere else to go.

He regretted his decision every single second. But as he collected venom from Nagini's long fangs, he thought of what his master said earlier. He couldn't understand what his master was talking about but he had a strange feeling he wouldn't find out in the end.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And that's where this chapter ends! Thank goodness. I know it's short but it's hard to think up of a chapter for the fourth book or fourth year for Ron.<br>**_

_**Yes, my fellow proofreader and I are done dealing with Ron's first year but we will still be continuing to fix the other chapters of second and third year. I just felt that it's been long overdue that this story's been in hiatus but only because the fixing process is slow since I have a lot of things going on with my life.**_

_**I'm almost done with the following chapter. Just a few more tweaks from my awesome proofreader who is You-Know-Who which is not really the person's username and I'll be able to post it too.**_

_**Anyway, that's all I can say. The next one will cover most likely the Portkey and Bagman and Crouch.**_


	25. Chapter 24

"Ron!" Ginny hollered, "Are you done yet?"

"I am, Gin!" Ron shouted back before he put his shirt on. "Just wait for a moment, will you?" He finished dressing and let out a yawn. It was barely Dawn but he and the rest of the family were already awake. Today was the day they would be going to the Quidditch World Cup, the most awaited event in the summer of 1994. He had been counting the days since his father announced that they had free tickets to watch the game.

Ron glanced down and saw Damon trying to jump on his bed. Chuckling, he picked his pet dog. "Sorry you have to stay with Mum." he said to him before placing him on the bed. "Try not to eat everything, alright?"

Damon let out a bark, wagging his tails enthusiastically.

It had been a month since Sirius Black gave Ron the part-Krup and Labrador. He already adored the dog and he spent half of his time playing and teaching him tricks. Mr. Weasley bought a book about Krups and how to properly care for dogs which helped Ron to understand them better, especially one that was part-Krup. Once or twice he would bring Damon to the Muggle world so that he could be trained to be less fierce to Muggles. He had to admit, it was a lot of work but he wouldn't give up on Damon. He already sent a letter to Dumbledore and Snape for permission to bring him to Hogwarts though he had yet to receive a response.

Ron hastily flattened his messy hair; He'd grown it longer than usual (his mother insisted on cutting it but he managed to dodge her attempts) and he went downstairs where the others were waiting. "Why aren't Bill, Charlie and Percy up yet?" he asked curiously as he looked around.

"They're still sleeping," said George, frowning slightly.

Fred nodded. "Yeah, because they know how to apparate they'll meet us later."

Ron couldn't help but share the twins' feelings. "That's bloody unfair," he grumbled.

Finishing breakfast, they took turns going back up to the bathroom to brush their teeth in turn (it was more 'first come, first serve') until they were ready to leave. Fred and George were given another evil eye by Mrs. Weasley after she found out they were trying to smuggle some of their remaining prank products out from her reach. "Come on, I'm sure you'll be able to make more!" said Ron helpfully to the two as they walked away from the Burrow.

"It took almost all of our savings to make those!" grumbled Fred.

"She doesn't understand that's what." said George angrily. "Do you really think us two would work well in the Ministry?"

"No." said Ron and Ginny in perfect unison.

"You two are too fun to work in the Ministry," said Ginny, voicing out her opinion.

"Exactly!"

Mr. Weasley chuckled. "Your mother just wants the best for you two -"

"We know that, but she can't possibly think we'd be happy working in a boring place in the Ministry...erm, no offense Dad." Fred added, seeing the amused look from Mr. Weasley.

"Just wait for it." he said gently. "She'll understand soon."

The sun still hadn't risen by the time the five Weasleys made it to the top of the hill; they began searching for the Portkey that would bring them to the campsite of the Quidditch World Cup game. Then a man not far shouted. "Arthur! I got it!" The Weasleys stopped searching and watched as two figures made their way to them. Ron recognized one of the two as Cedric Diggory, the Seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

Both Fred and George stiffened at the sight of him and only gave a curt nod while their fathers introduced each other's family.

"So, where are the Lovegoods?" asked Mr. Diggory to the Weasley patriarch. Ron and Ginny looked up and waited for their father to respond.

"They've already been at the campsite since last week." answered Mr. Weasley. "Shall we go?"

Mr. Diggory nodded. "Ah yes, gather everyone!" he said as he held out the worn-off boot. "You just need to touch the Portkey – even a finger will do -" when everyone managed to press their finger against the boot despite the lack of space between each other, he said finally, "On three – two – one!"

Ron suddenly felt a force pulling him toward the boot – his shoulders were colliding against Ginny and George's – the next thing he knew, he was lying flat on the ground, groaning. "You alright?" asked Cedric sincerely to Ron, holding out his hand to him.

The redhead stared at him before accepting the Hufflepuff's hand. "Not really." he said gruffly as he let Cedric pulled him up.

Cedric smiled compassionately. "Mine was worse." he said. When Mr. Diggory called him, he said, "I better go, I'll see you whenever." he said casually before turning his back on him and walking with his father.

_Nice chap,_ Ron thought as he watched him walk off.

"Typical Hufflepuff bloke," Fred snorted, giving Cedric a foul look.

"Hey, nothing wrong about that." shrugged Ron. "I don't suppose you've gotten over Gryffindor losing to Hufflepuff, last year?" he questioned suddenly to the twins.

George looked sheepish. "I guess so…but it's all healthy House rivalry, you know."

Ron didn't quite believe that's what his brother felt. "Sure."

He saw him talking to a man wearing what seemed to be Muggle clothes. Ron stepped closer and realized that the man was in fact a Muggle. "That'll be twenty pounds."

"Twenty pounds, you say?" repeated Mr. Weasley in glee as he put his right hand inside his pocket and pulled out a wad of printed paper and some weird coins Ron recognized as Muggle money.

As Mr. Weasley tried to figure out what to give, Ron couldn't help but feel a tiny bit embarrassed. "Let me help you Dad." He took hold of the money and checked out which bill was which. "Well, here's twenty pounds," he said as he handed the Muggle money to the man whom he learned was named Mr. Roberts. "Sorry if it took a while, Dad has poor vision." he added before pulling his father away from the man.

"So here's our place, eh?" said George as he and Fred arrived with Ginny trailing behind.

"Yeah," nodded the youngest Weasley boy. "So where's the tent?"

"I think it's that one," pointed out Ginny, gesturing toward the mass of material lying on the site.

"Why isn't it up yet?" questioned Fred in amusement. "Why aren't you using ma -?"

"We're in public Muggle area," said Mr. Weasley in excitement, earning amused looks from his children. "We should not be practicing magic while there's Muggles in the area." he noted Mr. Roberts who was watching everyone in suspicion, "Come on now, it's a good learning experience to build a tent the Muggle way!"

The Weasley children shared a look with one another, knowing fully well that wasn't the real reason why their father was in a happy state.

"I guess we better build the tent." Ron sighed as he and the others picked up the pieces. It took a while but after nearly an hour of figuring out how it was done, they were finally finished. Of course, it was with some bit of help from Mr. Roberts (Ron made up a good excuse that it was their first time camping). It was a medium-sized old tent that seemed too small for a family of five, but they built another smaller tent for Ginny's use.

When Ron and the others entered the tent, it was spacious just like their Ford Anglia: it had three rooms, complete with a kitchen and bathroom. There was already furniture inside, albeit mismatched and the only bad thing was that it all smelled strongly of cats.

"I'm sure all of us will fit in here," said Mr. Weasley, looking around.

"How's your tent, Gin?" asked Fred as he saw Ginny entering inside.

"Oh its fine." she said before glancing around the tent. "It doesn't have a kitchen but I have bathroom of my own to use. And at least it doesn't smell."

Mr. Weasley peered inside a dusty kettle, "We'll need water."

"There's a pump tap on the map the Muggle gave earlier. It's on the other side of the field." Said Fred, his gaze on a map in his hand.

"That's great, why don't you and Ginny get some – you can boil it while you're there, and the rest of us start a fire…"

"Why not use the oven?" questioned Ron.

"Ron, Anti-Muggle security!" reminded their father, his eyes lightening up. "When real Muggles camp, they cook on fires outdoors. I've seen them at it!"

They didn't say anymore so Ron and Ginny went out with the kettle and saucepan in their hands. They walked around the area glancing at each of the tents they passed by. Ron steered away from the huge tent surrounded with peacocks, knowing fully well it belonged to the Malfoys (he found out that his family had half a dozen of albino peacocks at their home). When he and Ginny finally reached their destination, they cleaned the kettle and saucepan first before collecting some water.

The two met some familiar faces on their way back but Ron didn't take any notice of them since he didn't know them that well. When he thought he made it without the Malfoys or anyone similar seeing them, the opposite scenario happened. "Ronald!" a soft-spoken voice called out his name.

Ron winced, thinking the voice he heard just now sounded like a screaming Banshee. "Let's move faster, Gin," he said hastily, increasing his pace than before.

"Why? Isn't someone..?" said Ginny abruptly, glancing back and forth.

"Just keep on moving," he said through gritted teeth but a petite-looking figure appeared in front of him, causing him to stop in surprise and slopping water onto himself.

"Ronald, you're certainly in a hurry." said Daphne in greeting, smiling charmingly at him.

"Greengrass." he murmured, frowning at his wet jeans. He took out his wand, much to Ginny's curiosity, and pointed at the wet part of his jeans. "_Exaresco,_" he mumbled and the wet jeans turned dry.

"Ron, you can't use magic!" gasped Ginny, shocked at what she saw.

"Don't worry," he said to her. "There's too much magic here anyway and the Ministry wouldn't notice us." he turned to Daphne and noted her strange clothes he recognized as a Muggle female dress. Her arms and neck were bare and she was wearing a huge coral white hat with a green ribbon. Even if he wanted to deny it, she looked good in Muggle clothes.

Daphne seemed to have noticed his attention and did a graceful spin. "You like what I'm wearing? It's Muggle clothing of course but it does look good on me, doesn't it?" she said in a lightly teasing way.

Ron knew all too well that she was playing with him. "If you say so."

"Didn't you promise to call me by my first name?" she reminded.

He sure didn't remember that, but he stopped and it occurred to him that she didn't say it out loud but was expecting it since he promised to treat her a bit better from now on.

"Yes…" he said tersely, "…_Daphne._"

Daphne smiled widely after hearing his response. She leaned closer, much to Ron's dismay, and whispered, "I wanted to have another chat about you getting any visions from me but I don't mind waiting. Also, just to let you know, Theodore's here." She retreated and faced Ginny instead. "Your name is Ginerva, isn't it? I hadn't introduced myself properly to you last time. My name is Daphne Greengrass," she said as she gave a small curtsy to the only Weasley daughter.

Ginny knew the procedure when greeting other purebloods and returned the gesture after setting down the saucepan. "A pleasure to meet you though I'd rather be called Ginny – Ginerva's too formal," she said to her cordially.

"I'll remember that, _Ginny_," said the Greengrass heiress, saying her name rather slowly. "Well then, I just wanted to greet you. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other later, Ronald," waving her hand, she turned away and went out of sight.

Both Ron and Ginny watched her go; the younger sibling said, "I don't know about her. I like her because she's making you nervous -" Ron grunted at this statement, "- but I don't like her when she says my real name. Or even my preferred name." she said, frowning. "Let's get going."

By the time they arrived, they had yet to see a fire. "What happened?" asked Ron to the twins as he and Ginny set down the water on the grass.

"Dad's playing with the matches." said Fred, gesturing toward their father who seemed to be having the time of his life.

And Fred was right. Splintered matchsticks were scattered around him and just by looking at the contents of the matchbox, there were only a few left. Ron sighed. "Come on Dad, I'll help you," he said, setting the saucepan down and getting the matches from him. He tried three times but just like his father, he failed. "This is getting nowhere…" he grumbled.

"Need any help?" a familiar voice spoke not far from where Ron stood.

He and the others looked and saw Sirius Black standing front of them, along with Harry, Neville, Hermione and Lupin. The twins approached Harry and greeted him and began talking about Quidditch.

"Sure, Dad wants to start the fire the Muggle way."

Hermione marched forward and said, "I'll help him if you don't mind."

Ron shrugged. "Sure, you know this stuff, you're the Muggle expert here." he said, handing her the matchbox. "Hello Mr. Lupin," he greeted to his former DADA professor.

Lupin smiled. "Remus is fine, you don't need to add 'Mister'." he said to him.

"So, how's the dog? What did you name him?" asked Black suddenly, watching Ron closely for some reason.

"His name is Damon, and he's doing fine." Ron answered brightly although he wondered why Sirius was giving him that look. "He sometimes eats anything on the floor but I'm teaching him not to, he's improving."

"That's great to hear," said Black. "So I just saw you earlier talking a pretty young lady – is she…?"

Ron blanched, knowing right away who Black was referring to. "I-it's not what you think!" he blurted out, earning curious looks from the others. "She's the one who approached -"

"Oh so she went to you? That's a lot better!"

Ginny couldn't help but grin slyly at Ron's discomfort. "That girl's Daphne Greengrass. She and Ron are 'friends', according to him."

"T-that's not – that isn't -" spluttered Ron in shock before giving his younger sibling a filthy look.

"Ah, so Ickle Ronniekinns has met up with his lady friend, eh?" mused Fred, teasing Ron now. "What do you know, Gred, he's sneaking off to meet up with her -"

"You know, Ron, you don't need to." added George, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "You can go to her whenever and wherever you want to – we're not going to stop you." he was going to continue but Ron had had enough.

"Oh, stuff it you two!"

Hermione pondered their words after helping Mr. Weasley start the fire. "You know, I think I've heard of a rumor that you dragged Greengrass in an empty classroom and you were trying to talk to her about something."

"That's one of the milder rumors, though." commented Harry and Ron was surprised that the Boy-Who-Lived joined in. "What Neville and I heard was that-"

"Look, whatever you heard it's all from the rumour mill," said Ron exasperatedly. "None of it's true!"

No one responded after that, but surprisingly enough, Neville piped up. "I did see you pulling her somewhere while she was talking to Parkinson, to be honest."

This comment earned wolf whistles from the twins and Ron's groan. After a couple minutes' more of teasing, he got up. "That's it, I'm leaving."

"Where are you going?" asked Ginny loudly.

"Around!"

He was in a foul mood now; He stomped his way around the campsite, glaring ahead at nothing in particular until something caught his eye. He stopped for a moment and stared at it, before making his way over. "Viktor Krum…" he whispered as he stared at one of the huge and numerous posters of the young man. He wondered if he would be able to meet with the famous Quidditch player in person (he knew from his visions that Krum would be at Hogwarts but he didn't know why), maybe even get to talk to him!

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone call his name.

"Thank goodness I caught up with you!" Hermione panted as she stopped to catch her breath.

Ron raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What brings you out here?"

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment before responding to his question. "Well, I thought you needed a bit of company after what happened earlier."

"…Oh, that. That was nothing – they normally do that." He realized he sounded a rude and said hastily, "Sorry, I don't mean to bite your head off, you're just trying to -"

"It's fine." she shrugged, taking his apologetic tone into consideration. "So, I'm guessing you're a fan of that Quidditch player?"

"Yeah, just got into him a few weeks ago." he nodded. Without realizing it, he began rambling about Viktor Krum what he'd read about his accomplishments. Hermione had a faintly amused look on her face as she listened to him (Ron didn't notice if she really did).

"…And he's the only one of the players this season who can do the Wronski Feint without scratching himself!"

"You really researched a lot about him." she commented.

Ron stopped and his face turned red. "He's a great Quidditch player." he said defensively. "Wait, I get it, you don't like Quidditch, do you?"

"It's not like I don't like Quidditch," she rolled her eyes, "I just don't share the same passion."

"You're missing a lot, then." he said flatly.

"Shall we go back?" she asked him, ignoring his comment to her.

"Yeah, I guess so." he nodded once. "Thanks." he said suddenly, earning a curious look from Hermione.

"For what?"

"For asking and coming out here…you know…." he said slowly. The bushy-haired brunette seemed to understand his short response and simply nodded in return as they walked back.

But halfway back to the Weasley tent Hermione said suddenly, "About what happened earlier…"

"What are you talking about?" asked Ron but he had a faint feeling what she was referring to.

Hermione glanced around and said lowly, "When Sirius pulled you to the Whomping Willow…I just wanted to say -" before she could even continue, two figures were making their way toward them who turned out to be Harry and Neville.

"We thought we'd find you and Weasley." said Harry casually, nodding toward Ron. "So what are you two talking about?"

"Been trying to convince her of the finer points of Quidditch and how much she's missing out." said Ron simply, earning a look from Hermione he guessed Harry would be quite familiar with.

Both Harry and Neville snickered. Hermione looked scandalized. "Tough luck with that," he said while shaking his head. "We've tried convincing her – failed though." As the three of them chuckled over this common revelation, Harry blurted out something. "Weasley….Ron…about what happened at the Whomping Willow…I'm sorry, all of us I mean."

Neville nodded. "I'm sorry if I tackled you while your leg was hurt -"

Ron suddenly remembered exactly what the three were on about. "Oh right…erm thanks. I was only trying to help out back then. By the way, although it was pretty brave of you three to try and help but charging at a man transforming to a werewolf during full moon is rather – well, stupid."

"We didn't really intend for any of that!" said Hermione defensively, her cheeks flushed.

"Really? I always figured you to be smartest witch in our year." he pointed out without a hint of malice and his words caused her to be more pink-cheeked than ever. "You could've petrified these two here -" he gestured toward Harry and Neville, "and let Black handle the situation."

"And then what? Let Pettigrew get away?" interrupted Harry, frowning suddenly at him.

"Which is more important? You and your mates' safety or that damn rat?" he questioned him, facing him straight in the eye. "If you ask me, I'd pick the people who are important to me because I'd do anything to keep them safe. I'm sure Black or Pro…Lupin would say the same thing." He stopped himself, not wanting to sour things "Let's just drop it, all right? I accept your apology, and we all came here to have fun, right?"

When they returned, breakfast (although it was quarter past nine in the morning) was already served. "Took you long enough to return." called out Fred. "Where did you two lovebirds run off to? Should dear Daphne know about this?" he asked to both Ron and Hermione.

Both Ron and Hermione turned red. "Firstly, she and I aren't lovebirds. If you haven't noticed, Potter and Longbottom are with us. We were all just having a chat." Black, Harry, Neville, Hermione and Lupin were invited to eat with them and they accepted the offer and went off to bring their own food to share with the Weasleys. When they returned, everyone sat down with Ron seated between his father and Ginny (he noticed she went quiet the moment Harry sat down opposite of her) and everyone began to eat.

Ron decided to enjoy the food rather than chat but would occasionally say a word or two when asked. He figured that he'd attracted more than enough attention and considering the talk with Harry earlier it was best keep his head down for a moment.

After breakfast, everyone cleaned their plates the Muggle way (Mr. Weasley was pleased) until everyone parted ways. Ron watched them walk but stopped Hermione. "Just earlier, you were saying something." he said. "What did you want to tell me?"

Hermione looked surprised that he remembered it. "I-it's not important…I forgot anyways." Giving him an apologetic smile, she walked away and followed Harry and the others.

He accepted it, it wasn't like he'd never forgotten stuff before. He looked up at the bright sky and thought that it would be better if the game would start right away but from the corner of his right eye, he saw three familiar figures making their way to the Weasley tent. It was his older brothers Bill, Charlie and Percy. "Nice spot we have here," noted Charlie as he glanced around the area. "We have a good distance from the stadium."

"It's better than I thought," nodded Bill. "So how are you? Been doing well?" he asked the twins, Ron and Ginny.

"It would've been great if you three arrived here earlier and helped us out," said George grumpily. "Dad make us build the tents the Muggle way!"

Bill chuckled. "A bit of physical work won't hurt you four."

"Bill's right." agreed Percy pompously. "It's important to maintain a good balance for the -"

"Oh stuff it, Perce." Fred interrupted, earning an indignant look from him, "You don't even exercise in the first place." All Weasley siblings chatted amongst each other with the conversation mostly revolving about Ireland versus Bulgaria. Bill and Ron insisted that Bulgaria would win because of the star Seeker Victor Krum and also the number of wins they gained throughout the whole season. Ginny, Charlie and the twins would be supporting Ireland and pointed out a number of points regarding their performance as a team and their individual skill.

"Sure, Krum is brilliant." nodded Charlie. "But he's only one player and Quidditch is a team-oriented game so that doesn't count much."

"And Ireland has six amazing players, excluding their Seeker, if you ask me." added George. "It doesn't matter if the Seeker's the best if the points gathered by the Chasers are greater. If Bulgaria wants to win, they would have to -" he stopped for a moment when their father called them for lunch and the others were surprised how long they'd been talking.

All of them sat around the table to eat and they were halfway done when a man was walking his way over to their site. Both the twins and Charlie looked up and stared at him. "Is that him?" said Fred slowly.

"He is," nodded Charlie.

Ron recognized one of the two wizards as well. It was Ludo Bagman, former Beater of the Wimbourne Wasps and was considered one of the best Beaters of his time. He appeared jolly and easy-going; however the other wizard with him was a complete opposite: his robes were crisp black and he wore a strict no-nonsense look on his face that would make anyone feel alarmed. He glanced over to Percy who began spluttering and acting nervous for some sort of reason. Then it clicked.

"The other one's Crouch, right?" he asked for confirmation.

"Considering how Perce's acting, then he must be Crouch." mused George, watching Percy in amusement.

"Have some tea, Mr. Crouch!" breathed Percy, thrusting a cup of tea to the strict-looking wizard.

"Thank you, Weatherby," answered Crouch in slight distraction, accepting the tea but not drinking it before continuing the conversation with Mr. Weasley and Bagman.

Both the twins snorted. "Don't tease him, you two." said Charlie although he was grinning slightly.

"Oh we won't." lied Fred.

"So Arthur, how much are you going to bet on the match?" Bagman's robes fluttered and clinking of coins emitted from it.

"Ah…let's see," said Mr. Weasley slowly as he put his hand inside his robes. "six Sickles that Ireland will win."

Bagman looked disappointed at the amount of money he got from the Weasley patriarch but put on a jolly expression. "Alright, I'll take note of that." he said, accepting the Sickles with the rest of the money he gathered. He took out a parchment and quill, "Any other takers?" he said loudly to the rest.

Fred and George stepped up to Bagman and pulled out a pouch which turned out to be filled with money. Ron realized what they were going to do and instinctively yelled out.

"Wait you two, I want to tell you something!"

"What? Can't it wait later?" frowned Fred.

"It won't take much of your time, really!" said Ron quickly. When the twins approached him, he whispered lowly "Are you two going to bet all of that to the game later?"

"Yeah, is that your problem?" said George. "It's not your money."

"Yeah but I don't think you should bet all of that in one go. It's a huge risk -"

"The greater the risk, the better!" said Fred reasonably.

"But that's just it." Ron hissed, "Look, I'm sure you're both really confident of what you're doing but honestly, what you're doing is…is…stupid!" He finally got out. He saw angry expressions coming from the two but he knew they had to hear it. He had a strange feeling that if he let them bet all of their savings, it would turn out horrible.

"Ron's right." interrupted Bill, surprising his three younger brothers. He was standing behind the twins and it was obvious that he had heard everything. "I'm not going to force you two to stop betting on this, but I would suggest you bet at least a quarter of what you have. I've betted a couple of times and what I learn is that to never bet everything."

Both Fred and George watched him closely with narrowed eyes. "Fine, we'll only bet a portion," said George before his twin could say anything else. The two turned their backs and went to Bagman, taking out eight Galleons, twelve Sickles, six Knuts and a fake wand to boot. "We bet that Ireland will win."

"But that Krum will catch the Snitch." finished George with a smirk.

"Ohohoho, that's quite a bet there you two!" said Bagman, giving the twins appraising looks. "Ireland wins but Krum catches the Snitch? That'll be a spectacle." After a couple of more talks between the adults, both Bagman and Crouch left.

The Weasleys finished their lunch and cleaned up the dishes (with the twins, Ron and Ginny being able to convince Bill and Charlie to use a bit of cleaning spell to speed up the work) and went off on their own. Ron made up another excuse to roam around the campsite and ignored the teasing from the twins who were convinced he would meet up with Daphne Greengrass again. He glanced around, searching until he found what he was looking for. Or rather, who he was looking for.

"I've been wondering when we'd meet here." drawled Theodore, greeting Ron with a small nod. He was sitting comfortably in an expensive-looking chair outside a black, towering tent, drinking tea.

"Greengrass told me you'd be here. Anyway, let's go somewhere with less people." When they went to the edge of the woods, he said, "So, no strange news?"

"You mean Pettigrew? None at the moment, I'm sure Greengrass's Memory Charm worked. But there is something that's been going on around the Ministry: it's about Bertha Jorkins, a Ministry worker who went missing last month."

"Bertha Jorkins? I think Dad mentioned her name before…right, she went missing for a month and no one's looking for her?"

"I heard there's a search team looking for her." said Theodore.

"Where's the last place she was seen?" asked Ron. "I mean, surely someone's keeping on track with her."

"I'm not sure," he said simply. "No one's seem to be too worried about her. But anyway, have you got any more visions since end of year?"

"Just two." responded Ron, thinking. "No deaths or anything suspicious but one of them is interesting. I think it's some kind of huge event. I saw a huge crowd siting at the stands near the Black Lake…Bagman's there and he's saying something about 'champions'."

"Don't tell me you don't know," said Theodore in mild amusement, much to Ron's annoyance.

"Look, if you know anything about what I just said, then say it!" he said irritably.

"It's the Triwizard Tournament," the weedy teen told him. "It's a tournament between three wizarding schools in Europe – Beauxbatons, Dumstrang, and Hogwarts."

"What? A tournament?" said Ron blankly. "So you're saying that tournament's going to happen at Hogwarts? Our school's bloody going to host THAT tournament? Bloody hell."

"What a wide range of vocabulary you have." said Theodore dryly, shaking his head. "And yes, it's going to be held at Hogwarts."

"That's – wait, that's what Percy, Dad and the others were talking about!" said Ron in realization. "'Restricted information until the Ministry sees fit to release the information' – I'm going to wrangle Percy! I can't believe they wouldn't tell us about something great like this!" he half-chuckled.

"Well, you know now, so what is the other vision you had?"

Ron stopped rambling, "Just my brothers, the twins – they were lighting up some fireworks in some part of the castle talking about a… pink toad I think. It's hardly anything."

"Oh, well…which team do you think will win?"

"Bulgaria. You?"

Theodore snorted, much to Ron's shock. "You're pitiful sometimes, you know."

"What? What do you mean by that?" demanded Ron.

Theo said nothing and returned to his tent. Ron stared at him but shook it off. He went back to the Weasley tent and took a nap with thoughts of the Triwizard Tournament swimming in his mind. Numerous scenarios cropped up and it excited him for some reason. He knew there would be a three weeks left before he and his siblings would return to Hogwarts and the first thing he would find out about was the tournament itself.

It seemed like hours had past but a hand was shaking his lightly, trying to wake him up from his slumber. "Son, it's almost time. Get ready."

Ron's eyes blinked a couple of times until his father's words entered his mind. He became fully awake and shot up, his eyes now fully wide. "What? It's almost time? Wait, I'll get ready!" he rambled as he scrambled to his feet and fixed himself up as fast as he could.

"Come on, Ron! We're going to be late!" hollered Fred, poking his head inside the tent.

"I'm done!" said Ron, hastily fixing his hair. When he got out of the tent, he saw the other families and wizards from different parts of the campsite moving toward the gigantic stadium warded against Muggles. He heard singing and cheers for the two teams that would be playing against each other tonight and his heart began to thump in excitement. "Bloody hell, we're really going to be able to watch it!"

"Don't wet yourself just yet, Ickle Ronniekinns," reminded George.

"Aw, shove it, git!" Ron responded, he was in too good a mood to let anything get to him.

"Now, now boys, no teasing." said Mr. Weasley to his children. "Let's get going."

They walked together toward the stadium, and Ron couldn't contain his anticipation. He looked around and he knew that everyone else felt the same. It was going to be one of the best and most memorable moments he would experience this year.

* * *

><p><strong>That last sentence was sort of ironic, don't you think?<strong>

**I am very pleased that this chapter is done and it's longer than the first one. I think I have to explain what made Hermione follow Ron here. Let's see here…she felt the teasing was somewhat too much and she thought that Ron needed some cheering up. She's sort of like a mother or older sister but not overly so. More R/Hr to come in this year. It's a slow process but I don't want to rush it.**

**I'm not exactly sure how the courting works in Europe, especially in England, and how long it'll take for two people to start dating and stuff (I'm from Asia after all and it's different here but the same I think) but I hope it'll turn out good. But then again, I've heard that two people can start dating after knowing each other for a week which I think is too fast.**

**Hm, I'll have to figure this one out by using Google.**

**28/3/2013 Update: This has been re-edited to compliment chapter 22's information about Damon which I changed the breed to part-Krup and Labrador instead of Jack Russell.  
><strong>


	26. Chapter 25

_Blimey._

That was the only word Ron could think of as he first laid his eyes on the inside of the stadium from the perspective of the top box seat. It was huge and more than ten thousand spectators from across the world were here to watch the Final game of the Quidditch World Cup. He looked around in awe and he knew his family were thinking the same thing.

It was also no surprise to see Harry, Hermione and Neville along with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin seating with them. Ron knew that the Boy-Who-Lived and his godfather were loaded with Galleons, enough to buy tickets for the top seat out of petty cash.

He should have expected that the likes of Draco Malfoy and his family would be there sitting with them. Ron had worn a disgusted expression when the family appeared along with a portly pinstripe-suit man wearing a bowler hat who happened to be Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic and a foreigner who turned out to be the Bulgarian Minister. That was only the downside, but he could ignore them.

Both the Weasleys and the Malfoys glared at each other, showing utter dislike going back generations. "I'm surprised that your family managed to gets seats here." Draco sneered at Ron. "You must've sold your home just to get at least one ticket!"

"I wonder who you had to rip off to get the Galleons to buy your tickets." hissed Ron.

"That's enough." said Bill sharply but he was glaring at the Malfoy heir as well. "It's not worth it."

Draco curled his lips. "It's best if you listen to your eldest brother. At least he knows where he stands."

"Don't be so full of yourself!" said Harry loudly, catching both Ron and Draco's attention. "You know exactly what he meant when he said that."

Draco's cheeks flushed but glared at the raven-haired boy. The blonde woman with Lucius whom Ron believed to be Draco's mother entered the conversation. She bent down to Draco and whispered to his ear which sounded like "Behave yourself."

Black stepped forward to the Malfoys with an unreadable look on his face even if he was smiling ever so slightly. "Well, you're here Cissy. I'd never thought you enjoyed Quidditch." When he didn't get a response from her, he continued casually. "No answer? I thought you were raised better than that…"

"I don't need to respond to someone like you." said Mrs. Malfoy curtly, her back facing him.

"But I'm your _cousin_." tutted Black, clearly enjoying the scene. "Besides, I thought you raised your son with better etiquette. Clearly he has none, unlike my godson." He added, giving a fleeting glance over to Draco who flushed further.

"Black, you dare -" growled Mr. Malfoy, stepping forward with a dangerous look in his eye.

"The game's about to start!" said Cornelius Fudge nervously as he saw Bagman joining.

More than a dozen female figures entered the Quidditch field from below and it caused a huge reaction from the crowd, particularly the male population. Ron peered closer and his eyes bulged in shock and awe the moment the figures began dancing.

_Breath-taking. Beautiful. Perfect._

Ron couldn't remove his eyes from the sight and a number of things went across his mind. _Should I say something smart? Will that impress at least one of them? Oh wait, maybe I should just jump off from this place and I'd land on my feet, then –_

"What are you doing, Ron?" Ginny's voice echoed, causing Ron to snap back to reality.

He stared and flushed as his sanity returned to him. He had his right leg over the fence and he had just realised that he was about to jump off from where he was standing. He hastily moved away.

"…What just happened?" he asked quickly.

"You were under the Veela's charm." answered Daphne's voice, shocking Ron.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded, scooting away from her.

"Same as the others who are here." she said as if it were obvious. "And Theodore's just a few seats away." she added, gesturing towards two other wizards sitting at the back and Ron recognised the weedy boy sitting beside a tall suspicious-looking man who Ron immediately knew had to be his father.

"…Right…So those dancers are Veela?"

Daphne sniffed in reaction. "Oh yes, one of the very few creatures wizards like _you_ would ever dare approaching. Their charm is very powerful against any male and it is similar to a strong love potion because a Veela can make any wizard do their bidding with a bat of an eyelash."

"Oh. That's why I-"

"It's the Irish Mascots now!" cried Neville, looking excited.

Ron went back to watch what the Irish Mascots could do and they didn't disappoint him at all. Their performance was fun and full of mischief and everyone in the stadium enjoyed it. By the end of it, large amounts of glittering coins showered everyone and Ron caught a couple of them along with the others.

"Don't get your hopes up." smirked Draco at him and the Weasleys. "That's Leprechaun gold, it'll disappear after a couple of hours."

Ron felt his insides drop but it didn't let it show his face. "Do you really think we don't know that? And besides, I saw you almost taking all of your robes off to impress the Veelas. Pretty hilarious if you ask me!"

The Weasley boys and even Harry's group snickered. Draco's face flushed while Mrs. Malfoy had a disapproving expression on her face.

"And now ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome – the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team!" At each mention of the players' name, the players zoomed out to the sky riding on their brooms. When the last player, Victor Krum, was introduced, Ron nearly shot up from his seat and looked at him, star-struck. He was really amazed and he couldn't wait to watch the Seeker play. From his far left, Harry seemed to be watching the Bulgarian Seeker with apt attention.

"And now I present you the Irish National Quidditch Team!" said Bagman with his magnified voice and the Irish Supporters boomed in excited response. When both teams settled their positions in the air, the Bludgers were released and were circling madly across the pitch before the Golden Snitch. Mostafa, the referee, held the Quaffle firmly. The moment he threw it in the air and blew the whistle, the game began.

"And theeeeeyyyy'rrreee off!" commentated Bagman, watching the game from where the stood. "And it's Mullet! Troy! Moran! Dimitrov! Back to Mullet! Troy! Levski! Moran!"

It was incredible. The players from both sides were incredibly fast and it was very much obvious that it was more physical that the games played at Hogwarts. As expected, the Irish Chasers were gaining the upper hand and few seconds later, one of the Irish players scored a goal, earning an ear-splitting cheer from the Irish supporters.

"What!" yelled Harry from Ron's left. "But Levski's got the Quaffle!" He was holding an Omninocular and Ron figured he was watching it by slow speed.

"If you don't watch the game in normal speed, you'll miss a lot!" said Hermione whose hands were in the air waving while the Irish player named Troy took a lap of honour across the pitch.

For the next couple of minutes, the Irish National Quidditch team were gaining the upper hand with the score being thirty-zero until Bulgaria managed to score a goal made by Ivanova who dodged the Irish Keeper and threw the Quaffle in one of the hoops. The Bulgarian supporters roared as the Veelas began to dance. Ron and the other Weasley boys stuck their fingers in their ears to block out the Veela's Charm as they tried to concentrate on the game. Ron saw that the Bulgarian team was in possession of the Quaffle but the audience were shouting at the two Seekers, Lynch and Krum, who shot through the centre of the Chasers from both sides and were now swooping down to the pitch.

"They're going to crash!" gasped Hermione while Neville was awestruck as he was hanging on to the edge.

Hermione was half-right. On the very last second, Krum pulled up and steered off clearly away from the ground while Lynch crashed himself. "That's got to hurt!" said Fred hoarsely, impressed and shocked with what happened.

A huge groan rose from the Irish supporters. "Foul!" moaned Mr. Weasley. "Krum was feinting!"

"Whoa – so that's the Wronski Feint," said Ron in incredulity. "Bloody hell."

As the Irish team called for a time-out to check on their Seeker, everyone (it seemed) began to talk and cheer all at the same time; "He's going to be fine," said Charlie assuredly to Ginny who looked horror-struck. "The medics will patch him up quickly – don't worry."

"Did you see how he flies? He made it seem so effortless -" rambled Black to Lupin who chuckled at the sight of his best mate acting like a child.

When the game resumed, the Irish Chasers displayed so much more of their superb skills that after fifteen minutes they had garnered ten more goals to a total of a hundred and thirty points. The Bulgarian Beaters were now becoming aggressive, hitting Bludger after Bludger at the Irish Chasers who were still in position. The Veelas began dancing and the males stuffed their ears with their fingers.

"Look at the referee!" giggled Hermione as she tugged Harry by the arm.

Ginny looked what Hermione was talking about and let out a laugh. "I can't believe it – what's he doing?"

Daphne tutted from her seat. "Honestly."

Curious, the Weasley boys put down their hands and to their utter surprise, they saw Mostafa in front of the sea of Veelas and was currently flexing his arms as though trying to impress the alluring creatures while smoothing his moustache. The crowd was laughing now due to the hilarity they were seeing. "Now we can't have that!" shouted Bagman but his voice sounded highly amused. "Somebody slap the referee!"

One of the medi-wizards from below ran across the pitch while covering their ears and kicked the referee hard on the shins, snapping him out from the Veela trance.

The game resumed and two penalties were given to Ireland which caused a negative reaction from the Bulgarian crowd. "That's harsh!" howled Ron, throwing his hands in the air.

"Well, that's Quidditch," said Fred ruefully. "More points to Ireland."

Few more minutes had gone by and it seemed that the Bulgarian team were throwing the rules out of the window. One of the players named Dimitrov shot through the air and collided hard against Moran who almost fell from her broom. The Irish Supporters sprang their feet and shouted "Foul!" in protest.

"One of the Seekers must catch the Snitch or a bloodbath's going to take place!" gasped Neville, staring wide-eyed at the game.

On the grassy pitch below, the Leprechauns has risen into the air again and formed a rude hand gesture that, to the surprise of everyone and especially Harry, caused the Veelas from the other side of the pitch to lose control of themselves and transform with their heads turning into bird heads with long sharp beaks, scaly wings bursting from their backs and throwing fists of fire at the Irish Mascots. "And _that_, boys, is why you should never go for looks alone!" yelled Mr. Weasley over the noise of the crowd surrounding them.

The girls nearby seemed to agree with Mr. Weasley's words, even Mrs. Malfoy, giving a warning look over to her son. But even with the brawl happening below most of the audience were concentrating on the game that was happening in the air. Then something happened that stoked Ron in his seat – one of the Irish Beaters swung their beat hard at the Bludger and aimed it at Krum's face, causing shouts and protests from the Bulgarian crowd.

"Come on! That's a foul! Look at him you stupid referee!" hollered Ron as he sprang to his feet.

Unfortunately, a time-out was never issued because Mostafa was too busy trying to remove the fire from his broom.

Harry shouted. "Look at Lynch! He's seen the Snitch!"

The other spectators seemed to have realized what happened and the cheers and chants increased from the Irish supporters. But the Bulgarian crowd roared as Krum took a dive as well, following Lynch in surprising speed.

"They're neck to neck now!" hollered George, jumping up and down with Fred.

The two Seekers were reaching to the ground again.

"They're both going to crash!" shrieked Hermione, both of her hands on her face now.

"Oh dear Circe!" gasped Astoria who had just spoken just now.

"They're not!" roared Charlie.

"Lynch is!" shouted Harry and Ron in unison, watching the two closely.

And they were correct. For the second time, Krum pulled up three feet below the ground while Lynch crashed before getting stampeded by the angry Veelas. "Where's the Snitch?" asked Ginny as she looked up and below.

"Krum caught it." said Theodore smoothly, surprising the others in front of him.

The others in the top box looked up and they saw Krum up in the air with his right hand raised, holding the struggling Snitch. On the scoreboard, the points revealed that Ireland won by ten points higher than Bulgaria. It took a while but when the Irish supporters realised the score, they voices grew louder by the second until it turned into screams of delight.

"IRELAND WINS!" shouted Bagman who seemed to be taken aback like the Irish. "KRUM CAUGHT THE SNITCH BUT IRELAND WINS – Merlin, no one had seen that coming!"

"Except us!" hollered Fred and George, throwing high fives at each other and grinning from ear to ear.

"Why did he have to catch the Snitch anyway?" wondered Ron aloud while clapping his hands over his head and jumping up and down. "The Irish team were ahead of them…"

"He wanted to end on his terms," said Harry over the noise, applauding as well. "He knew they won't be able to catch up…"

"He's very brave, isn't he?" said Hermione, leaning toward to watch Krum land on the pitch.

Ron had half a mind to tease her about liking the star Seeker but kept to himself. But he snapped back as well as the others when they heard a heavily-accented voice speaking English. "Vell, ve fought bravely." He and the others whirled around and saw the Bulgarian Minister, Fudge was staring at him incredulously.

"You can speak English!" said Fudge, outraged. "And you've been letting me mime everything all day!"

The Bulgarian Minister shrugged. "Vell, it vos funny."

Black and the twins couldn't help but laugh. "I like this Minister, he has a good sense of humour." said Black to Lupin who was smiling and chuckling to himself.

Bagman was now introducing the teams of both countries with Bulgaria being first. Each players went up to shook hands with their own Minister then to Fudge who was looked quite disgruntled after finding out that he was being fooled by the Bulgarian Minister. When Krum's name was mentioned, everyone in the whole stadium gave him an ear-splitting roar. It was obvious that the Seeker was very popular, even amongst Irish supporters.

When it was done, Bagman stepped down. "I must say this game's going to be the talk for the next few years." he said hoarsely. "A really unexpected twist, that... shame it couldn't have lasted longer...ah yes...yes, I owe you ...how much?" he said as the twins stood in front of him with their hands outstretched.

Ron shook his head as he turned away. "It was very exciting, wasn't it Ron?" asked Ginny as she looked over to the pitch with a longing look on her face which Ron found odd.

"Oh – oh yeah!" he nodded hastily as his thoughts went drifting off to Krum's superb flying skills.

As the Weasleys headed down to the purple carpeted stairs, Mr. Weasley, in particular, was giving a worried look to his twin sons Fred and George who were holding their winnings from the bet they made. "Don't tell your mother that you gambled." he implored to them.

"Don't worry Dad," said Fred cheerfully, "we have big plans for this -"

"- and we don't want it confiscated." continued George with a nod.

Ron was listening on their conversation when someone pushed against him slightly and he felt something slid in his palm. He looked to his right and saw Theodore walking down swiftly with his father without a word. He frowned at him but stared down at his right hand to see a small folded parchment. He slowed his pace and carefully unfolded it and read.

_Prepare yourself later._

"Prepare myself?" he muttered to himself, his eyebrows knitted together. "_What does he mean?_" He decided to push the thoughts away and followed his family, not wanting his good mood to go away.

The merry cheers still continued as the stadium quickly filled out and the Weasleys managed to return to their tents with little to no difficulty. The boys still continued bantering about the game and Ginny was about to doze off, spilling chocolate all over the floor that Mr. Weasley decided that everyone should sleep.

Ron felt his eyes shutting down but the words written on the parchment that Theodore gave him kept him awake. _Just sleep it off, nothing bad is going to happen,_ the voice in his head said soothingly, further pushing the redhead to deep sleep.

But the wind seemed to change. The sounds outside the tent turned into shouts and screams. Then Mr. Weasley woke everyone up. "Everyone get up! This is urgent!"

Ron opened his eyes and shot up grabbing his wand instinctively. "What's happening Dad?" he questioned but his father interrupted him.

"No time for questions, Ron, just grab a jacket and go outside quickly!"

He complied and grabbed one before heading out.

It was total chaos and Ron felt he was having some sort of déjà vu. People were running around, screaming and shouting. The some of the young children were being carried away by their parents, confused and scared of what was happening. The Ministry workers were scattered all over the place, doing whatever they could to lower the tension. And a few feet away, Ron saw…**it**…and it made his insides twist unpleasantly.

Four people, including two children, were lifted in the air in grotesque positions. Below them were a tightly knitted group of wizards with their wands pointed at the four. Ron couldn't help but look closer at the floating people and realized that one of them was Mr. Roberts, the Muggle and the others were certainly his family.

Ron stared stunned at the wizards as they laughed and jeered at the Muggles suspended over them. He couldn't see their faces as they were wearing masks and the image struck him hard.

"Death Eaters…" he whispered to himself. The skull-like masks were hard to forget since half of his visions were filled with them.

The rest of the Weasleys got out of the tents, fully dressed and with their wands out. "You four – Fred, George, Ron and Ginny – go to the woods, you'll be safer there – the rest of us will try and help the other Ministry wizards." Arthur commanded.

"But Mr. Roberts is -" said Ron, glancing the floating Muggles being forced to act like Marionettes.

"We'll do our best to help them but you four have to go now!" said Mr. Weasley firmly. "I'll come back for you after we've sorted this out!"

"Come on, Ginny." said Fred as he held out his hand to Ginny who took it. The remaining Weasley children ran together toward the woods. It was hard to stick together while there were others who were running from every direction, looking for their families and running away from the mayhem.

He couldn't see where he was running that he tripped, falling on the ground and yelping in pain. "Can't you be careful?" a familiar voice told him amusedly that Ron looked up.

It was none other than Daphne and Theodore.

Ron got back to his feet and stared at the two. "What're you two doing here?" he said bluntly.

Daphne rolled her eyes. "We both figured it's the best time for the three of us to talk, obviously. Anyway, why are you all by yourself?"

"I…oh, great I've lost them!" he scowled. "Anyway, let's go somewhere where no one can see us."

"Not that way." said Theodore mildly. "Daphne and I saw Draco heading there a few moments ago."

"Nice of you to tell me that." responded the redhead. "Let's go to the other side, then." The three walked discreetly through the chaotic crowd and but on the way, something caught Ron's attention. It was two Veelas being surrounded by a couple of wizards who seemed to be boasting numerous things.

"…invented a broom that can fly to Jupiter!" said one pimply-faced wizard wearing purple robes.

"That's not true! You're just a conductor of the Knight Bus!" countered another wizard in his late twenties. "I, on the other hand, own 500 vacation houses around the world! And I'm going to be next Minister!"

Ron had a strange look on his face and Daphne saw it. "Really now, there's no need to look at _them_ -" she told him irritably as she marched over.

"That's load of Doxy dung!" hollered Ron at the group, mesmerized. "I managed to -"

"That's enough!" growled Daphne, dragging him by the arm. "Let's go – help me Theodore -" After a couple of minutes, they finally found an empty corner to drag him to. "You. Are. Ridiculous. You let yourself get dazzled by those creatures…honestly, can't you get a grip of yourself?"

The redhead felt his ears turned red in embarrassment as the Veela's effect faded. "Stop lecturing me." Clearing his throat, he said to Daphne in his casual voice, "Where's your sister, by the way? Don't tell me you left her alo -"

"I didn't leave her alone," she cut across him harshly. "She's with my parents right now. I lied to them about looking for Theodore and trying to find a necklace that you gave me."

"I didn't give you a necklace!"

Daphne rolled her eyes at him. "Of course you didn't. It's part of the lie."

Ron blinked. "Oh. Right." Sighing, he turned to Theodore. "So, about that note you slipped to me earlier, you knew about this?"

"Not entirely. I figured my father and the others would have some kind of Death Eater reunion."

"So you're father's one of those wankers dangling those Muggles up in the air like some sort of puppet show?!" growled Ron, the grip on his wand tightening. "That's bloody twisted!"

"There's no need to point it out, I've known that since I've heard him and the others talk about their glory days." said the dark-haired wizard uncaring.

Daphne sighed. "That's enough, you two. Anyway, did you even see this coming Ronald? You know…_**see**_ it?"

"No." said Ron frustratingly. "That could've helped loads, though."

"You should really try and master your Seer ability, we're going to be Fourth years…" reminded Daphne to him.

"I'm trying, thank you!" he said hotly. "Do you really think I'm not reading those bloody books you sent me a few weeks ago? I hate reading those doorstoppers but it's darn obvious that I need it – I have to practice and try to push it out and it's not easy!" he took a deep breath and said slowly, "Anyway, there's still a couple of more weeks to go until we go back to Hogwarts and I might get some information from Dumbledore."

"One of the things most wizards couldn't get." said Theodore dryly. "You made a good choice telling him of what you are."

"Is that a compliment I'm hearing, Nott?" said Ron while raising an eyebrow.

Theodore ignored him. "Well then, we should-" he stopped and his expression changed. "I heard some movement." The other two became alert and held their wands, watching from the corner of their eyes. Then they heard a rustling of bushes from Daphne's right side.

They all raised their wands at ready but they were surprised when a house-elf appeared from the bushes and was moving weirdly as if something was keeping him (or her) from moving forward.

"W-Winky is to hides from bad wizards!" the house-elf squeaked while struggling to head to the other side. "Must – hurrying up -"

"So that's a house-elf," muttered Ron, lowering his wand. "Weird nutters if you ask me."

"Not all house-elves are 'weird nutters' as you like to describe them," Daphne said. "I think we should move somewhere where there's -"

A loud bang echoed throughout the woods. The three raised their wands again, looking everywhere. "What the bloody hell?" swore Ron.

"The sound came from over there." said Theodore as the three of them headed toward the source.

"Nothing's here," said Ron. "_Lumos._" Light appeared at the tip of his wand and Ron raised it high over them.

"This is getting strange," frowned Daphne. "But I think it's a prank."

"At a time like this?" questioned the redhead doubtfully. "Maybe a Death Ea -"

"_MORMORSDRE!_"

A faint green spell glowed from the left side of the woods, shooting straight into the sky. Ron ran out of the woods and looked up, curious what the spell could do. The other two members of the Silver Triad soon followed him and Nott had an uncharacteristic expression on his face.

"We should go now." said Theodore curtly.

"Not until I see it -" Ron stopped, his eyes glued onto he was seeing. The green light expanded like smoke and it formed into a defining image that for some reason made his skin crawl. It was a colossal skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. "Wait – that's the –"

Their surroundings erupted with more screams. "Come on, Ronald, we have to go!" insisted Daphne, pulling Ronald again. "We can't be seen here!"

"What the bloody hell do you mean by that?!"

"Just do as we say! We have to leave this place!"

Ron opened his mouth but closed. He had to trust in them, which oddly no longer felt as bizarre as he thought it would. The three moved quickly away from the woods as far as they could and as they ran, they heard couple of voices shouting Stunning spells a couple of feet away from them. When they were somehow away enough, Theodore said, "This will do."

"Right, so we all know what's in the sky, right?" questioned Ron to the two.

"Of course we do," snapped Daphne. "That's why we have to leave that area because people might think it's us who did it." she gestured toward the skull with a serpent over the sky, "What do you two think so far?"

"It doesn't make sense at first, if you ask me." responded Theodore after a moment. He looked at the other side of the campsite and continued, "but it seems to me that it's not related to the chaos that happened earlier. _They_ might have left after the Dark Mark appeared in the sky." When he mentioned they, both Ron and Daphne knew he meant the Death Eaters at the campsite.

"Now that's strange." Ron mumbled. "But really, who would use that in a time like this? What does this mean to be exact?"

Both Theodore and Daphne shared a glance. "That's the question, isn't it?" said Daphne. "Everyone including those wizards causing trouble fled the moment they see it. But one thing is certain; only a true Death Eater would know the incantation of that spell."

"So you mean -?" whispered Ron as his voice shook.

"Yes." agreed Theodore. "There's a rogue Death Eater on the loose. The one that's still loyal to the Dark Lord."

* * *

><p><em><strong>And that's the end of this chapter. <strong>_

_**It covers the whole chapter of the Quidditch World Cup and half of the Dark Mark. This chapter is really hard to make since I'm not exactly interested in "Quidditch". Sorry to the Quidditch fans out there but I'm proud to say that I did my best. I think the chapter will have a bit of a time-skip and I'll make the rest of the Dark Mark chapter into flashbacks. The next chapter will most likely cover some part of Mayhem at the Ministry, Abroad the Hogwarts Express, and some bits of the Triwizard Tournament.**_

_**If you didn't get to receive an update regarding the first two chapter of year 4, I'd like to inform you that I removed the Author's Note chapters so the chapters moved back a bit. **_

_**It's still somewhat close to canon but changes are still set that will take effect in the long run, sadly. Fifth year is still far but I think it's the hardest one since I'm not going to include one important character in it.**_

_**Please review! Reviews are nice to have for all authors who needed some boost. **_

_**29/3/2013: This chapter has been re-edited to compliment chapter 18 with regard to Peter Pettigrew's capture.**_


	27. Chapter 26

The Weasleys arrived home the moment the sun began to rise. They have left the Quidditch World cup campsite in haste shortly after struggling to get a Portkey from one Ministry member against the other wizards and witches who wanted to leave the campsite after what happened a couple of hours ago. The Death Eaters who caused the pandemonium were not caught which frustrated Ron.

Standing in front of the Burrow was Mrs. Weasley and the others could tell she had waited for quite a while. From afar, she was wearing in her night garments. She came running toward them clutching a copy of the Daily Prophet in her right hand. "Oh thank goodness! Arthur – I've been so worried – _so_ worried -" she wrapped her arms around her husband and embraced him tightly, eventually dropping the newspaper.

Ron bent down to pick up the newspaper and read the headlines.

**SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP**

He had yet to read who wrote the article and the content until the scene of his mother giving a hug to the twins distracted him.

"Ow! That hurts, Mum -!" said Fred shortly after he and George got their head banged together when Mrs. Weasley embraced them.

"I shouted at you two before you left!" she cried, still not letting the two go. "It's all I've been thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and that last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough OWLs? Oh Fred…George…"

"Come on, dear, we're all safe," said Mr. Weasley soothingly to his wife.

When everyone finally entered inside, Mr. Weasley said to Ron, "Son, let me read it first – I want to know what it says…"

Ron nodded and handed it to his father without a word.

Everyone settled in their places while Mrs. Weasley busied herself to heat up the kettle and make something for breakfast. Bill, Charlie, Percy and Ron waited for their father reaction although Percy stood and peered over Mr. Weasley's shoulder to read the newspaper.

"I knew it," said the Weasley patriarch finally, heaving a sigh. "_Ministry blunders…culprits not apprehended…lax security_…who wrote this? Ah…of course…Rita Skeeter."

"Who's she, Dad?" asked Ron.

"She's a reporter from the Daily Prophet," said his father wryly, putting the newspaper down to which Percy picked it up and read the headlines, his eyes darting left to right. "She's…different from the usual ones, it's best if you avoid her." He stood up from his seat and said to Mrs. Weasley, "Molly, I will have to go to the office -"

"Why?" said Mrs. Weasley sharply as she set down the pan. "You haven't eaten yet! Surely you haven't got enough sleep since the ordeal at the World Cup -"

"I've been mentioned," he grimaced, gesturing toward the newspaper. "My name's not written, of course, but you know Skeeter…she has a way to twist anyone's words. Apparently, I've made things worse. I have to go and fix it. I'll just change my robes and be off…"

"I'm coming with you, Father," said Percy importantly, placing the newspaper on the dining table. "Mr. Crouch will need all hands on deck. And I can give him my cauldron report in person."

Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips but didn't say a word before turning to Ron. "Ron dear, a letter was sent to you just yesterday afternoon. It's from Professor Snape -"

"Snape? Why's the greasy bat sending you a letter?" questioned George.

"George! Be respectful to your Professor!" scolded Mrs. Weasley.

Ron stared at her. "Er – where's the letter?"

"It's right beside Floo pot by the fireplace," she told him. "I think it's about what you asked earlier."

This made Ron excite. He left the kitchen and went to living area where he saw the familiar Hogwarts letter placed where his mother said so. He grabbed the letter and ran up to his room which was slightly ajar and Damon was inside, wagging his tail enthusiastically the moment Ron entered. "Hey you," greeted Ron, kneeling down and patting his pet appreciatively. "Been behaving well?"

Damon barked twice.

"Come on, you'll get to sit beside me on bed," he picked the dog up and put him on his bed before sitting down. "Let's see…" his hands shaking in anticipation, he ripped the letter off and took out the parchment inside before unfolding it. He began to read.

_Mr. Weasley,_

_Your request regarding your familiar which is part-Krup to bring over to Hogwarts has been discussed with Headmaster Dumbledore and it is decided that you are permitted to bring your familiar. However, there is a condition that you must follow: your familiar must not stay in the Slytherin dungeons. As your familiar is part-Krup, there is a possibility for your familiar to eat anything he sees._

_I also expect that you will watch over your familiar to avoid instances that calls for detention and point deduction. Should you have any other concerns regarding this matter, you may respond back._

_Signed,_

_Severus Snape_

Ron reread it and his heart swelled, causing him to grin widely. Someone knocked on the door and said, "Come in!"

The door opened and Ginny entered the room. "Hey Ron, did they let Damon come to Hogwarts?" she asked.

He put down the letter and said, "They did! Damon can come with me!"

"Oh that's great!" said Ginny happily. She swooped down on Damon and carried him to her arms. "You must be so excited!" she cooed at the puppy. "You're going to have lots of fun at Hogwarts! And you can stay at my dorn -"

"Hey I didn't allow you -" protested Ron teasingly. "But I guess that's a good idea. Snape wouldn't want Damon to stay inside our common room because he might eat anything he sees."

"Hm, you have a point there." she said thoughtfully, sitting down on the bed beside Ron while still holding and stroking Damon lightly. "We have to think of a way on where Damon can stay at Hogwarts in case McGonagall wouldn't allow too. Oh wait!" she said, an idea struck to her. "Why don't you ask Hagrid about letting Damon stay at his hut? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Ron stared at her as if she grew another head. "That's brilliant!" he said. It was so simple. Hagrid was kind enough to watch over Peter the rat the last time. Why not Damon this time? "I'll send an owl to him right now and ask – thanks Gin!"

"No problem," said Ginny casually before putting Damon down. "Just passing by."

Ron turned to Damon and said, "What do you say? Wanna come to Hogwarts with me?" Damon chased his tail before barking enthusiastically in response at Ron. He grinned. "You're going to enjoy it there. And maybe when you grow up a bit more, you can chase Malfoy and scare him off – you'd like that, won't you?" But then he thought that Draco and his cronies might do something bad to his familiar and he frowned. "Right, well try to avoid them as much as you can. If they try something at you, then you can bite them hard in the arse." He said finally while patting Damon on the head lightly.

* * *

><p>Days had gone by and Ron was unconsciously counting the days before he would return to Hogwarts. He had a lot of things he needed to do but he also had another thing in mind which was getting an autograph from Victor Krum. It would take a lot of guts to ask him directly but he thought it would be worth the effort (but asking for a photo with him was pushing it). There was only a week left and he and the others already received their Hogwarts letters few days ago which Bill and Charlie helped them buy their school things.<p>

Ron was at his bedroom, scowling and muttering to himself since he was told off by his mother to clean his bedroom. He was halfway done piling his trunk with necessities (he thought after a while that it was better to prepare a bit earlier than before) when noticed old-looking robes with laces.

"Ugh! What the bloody hell is this?" he exclaimed, picking the robe up from the pile of fresh clothes his mother laid down for him. "Mum! You mixed Ginny's with mine!" he hollered downstairs.

Mrs. Weasley arrived at Ron's room to see what his youngest son was talking about. "That's not Ginny's – it's yours -" she began but Ron cut across her.

"What d'you mean it's mine? And why do I need this in the first place?" he said loudly.

"You will need them later at Hogwarts," she said firmly and even after a couple of minutes of Ron convincing her to tell him what the dress robes were for, she wouldn't budge.

"I'm not going to wear them!" he shook his head as he threw the dress robe down on his robe and scowling.

"It's your loss." her mother said while walking out of his bedroom. "You'll regret sooner or later." Shaking her head, she left the room and closed the door.

Ron stared at the door, completely confused. "The hell?" he said before shooting a mean look at the gaudy dress robe. "I'm definitely not going to wear you, whatever reason Mum is saying. No bloody hell." He grabbed the horrendous dress robes and stuffed it angrily under his bed. "I'm not going to regret it!"

"What are you moaning about?" Charlie's voice drifted from outside his room. The door creaked open and he poked his head inside the room. "Your voice reached downstairs, you know -"

"It's nothing!" said Ron hastily. He wouldn't want his siblings know about the dreadful piece of clothing.

The dragon keeper stared at him beadily. "Really?" he said in disbelief. When Ron shook his head, he sighed. "Fine, don't tell me. But if you need any help, just approach me, alright?"

"Sure, I'll do that," said the younger redhead quickly. He grunted and lied on his bed after Charlie left. "Dress robes…honestly!"

Nothing much happened after the incident and Ron never bothered to reach for those dress robes under his bed. On the first day of September, he and the rest of the Weasleys returning to Hogwarts were downstairs with their trunks and belongings. Bill and Charlie were also up and they were helping the others to lessen the delay. "I'm sure all of you will enjoy this year," said Bill with a smile as he hugged Ginny. "Shame I couldn't see it."

"What are you going on about?" demanded Fred but Ron knew exactly what Bill was referring to.

"Oh you'll see," grinned Charlie. "I think you'll see me at Hogwarts soon – I'll have better luck on seeing it than Bill does."

"Come on," scowled George, shooting annoyed looks at the two eldest Weasley children. "Just tell us! Don't leave us hanging! You two are bloody trolls!"

"George, mind your words!" scolded Mrs. Weasley. "Now behave, all of you. If you forgot something, just owl us and we'll send it over to you."

"I already packed everything I need." assured Ron, mentally crossing his fingers. _Those dress robes are excluded._ The Weasleys (minus Bill, Charlie and Mrs. Weasley), got in the Ford Anglia and drove off to the train station at London. Luckily enough, they managed to arrive a bit earlier than usual and loaded their trunks on the trolleys with less urgency. Ron ran through the barrier between platforms nine and ten and found himself at King's Cross station once more. He bid his father before pulling his trunk and the medium-sized dog crate where Damon was inside the train to find a spare compartment. Soon he found one and made himself comfortable, putting his trunk aside and closing the door.

He bent down and opened the crate, releasing Damon from inside. "Now you're here, pup," he said while grinning. "You're going to have tons of fun when we arrived at Hogwarts but you need to behave yourself, alright? No eating of anything you see on the floor - you don't want Snape glaring at you."

Damon chased its tails before letting out a bark.

Ron chuckled and patted him appreciatively. Surprisingly, the door slid open and Hermione, Neville and Harry stood in front. "Oh, it's already occupied," said Hermione in realisation while holding a wicket basket which Ron assumed was the mangy cat was being held.

"Uh yeah," nodded Ron slowly. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine," she said quickly. "Is that the dog Sirius gave you?" she asked, gesturing toward Damon who was currently sniffing at them.

"That's him," he confirmed. "Come on Damon, say hi to the three." Damon sat down and raised his right paw while his tongue stuck out. "Good boy!"

"That's brilliant," said Harry, bending down to shake the paw. "Been training him?"

"Yeah, it was hard at first - he couldn't stop eating what he sees," he said thoughtfully. "But he's improving. He knows other tricks though like fetching and play dead. Anyway, I'll have to ask Hagrid to let him stay at his hut - Snape wouldn't let me bring him inside the common room because he might eat something one way or another."

"Shame." Harry stood up and said, "Well, we ought to go now and find a compartment. Bye."

Ron nodded and watched them leave. He shut the door and let out a yawn. After a couple of minutes, he sighed. "I'm bloody hungry," he said to himself.

"I'm not surprised," said Daphne suddenly as she slid the door open.

He jumped in surprise and shot an annoyed look at her direction. "What are you doing here? Can't it wait whatever it is you want from me?" he said while scowling.

She ignored his comment and sat down in front of him. "This is your familiar, isn't it?" she asked while gesturing down to Damon.

"His name is Damon, he's part-Krup." he told her shortly.

"Aren't you a lovely dog?" she cooed at him. Damon let out a bark and jumped on her lap, which surprised the redhead. "He already likes me." She remarked, scratching the head of the dog lightly.

"W-what – how did you do that?" he spluttered. "He wouldn't do that to anyone else other than Ginny, Charlie and I!"

"Because I'm very likeable," said Daphne matter-of-factly. "and besides, I like dogs. They're loyal, obedient like a House-elf -"

"That's it," said Ron, annoyed, as he carried Damon to his side. "Really now, what do you want? It's almost time for the train to leave and you're not supposed to be seen with me."

The blonde girl clicked her tongue. "Impatient, are you? I just figured that it won't matter much if they do see us together – and no interruptions," she added as she gave a sharp look at Ron who opened his mouth. "Anyway, I haven't had any visions from you and it's rather unfair. It's better if I get the best of you while I still can."

"You're the one's who's impatient," he snorted. "And what are you going to propose? Hold your hand every chance you get?"

"That's exactly what I'm planning to do," she said coolly and Ron gawked at her. "But it's going to be different, I promise. You can pretend that you fancied the pants of me -"

"WHAT!" hollered Ron indignantly while Damon barked enthusiastically.

"- and you're willing to carry my belongings and follow me every chance you get." she finished, ignoring his reaction.

"You're bloody mad to think that I'm going to agree on that!" scowled Ron angrily while pointing accusingly to her direction. "Firstly, no one's going to believe in that and secondly, I'm not going to agree to it no matter what you say -"

"I've never thought you as a coward," said Daphne coolly. "I thought you don't care what others think."

"I don't," he retorted. "but doing it for your sake is not worth it. Look, I -"

The door slid open for the third time and both Luna and Ginny stood in front of the entrance. "Did we interrupt something?" asked Ginny amusedly, glancing at her older brother and Daphne in mild interest.

"No." said Ron while Daphne responded "Yes." The two Slytherins shot a look at one another.

"We'll come back then," said Luna dreamily. "Ron, you're surrounded with Wrackspurts again. You should clear your head for a bit." With that, she shut the door and both her and Ginny were out of sight.

Ron stared at the door, his mouth slightly open. Shaking his head, "Right, look Gre – Daphne," he said abruptly after seeing Daphne glare at his direction, "I'm not going to agree to it. I will when we're alone with Nott or not but that's it." he said firmly while setting Damon down on the floor. "And only a maximum of two minutes."

"That's not enough," she protested.

"I'm doing my best to control it better," he said exasperatedly. "That's all I can do for now. Come on, deal?" he said as he offered his right hand.

Daphne looked straight into his blue orbs and said finally, "I suppose it's the best I can get at this moment." She took his hand and shook hands.

On that moment, the surroundings blurred and he knew on that moment that a vision was forming.

_"This is getting out of hand!" said Daphne angrily as she paced around an elegant room. Her appearance showed that she was around sixteen or seventeen just like what Ron remembered when he had a first vision from the blonde Slytherin._

_"You think?" said a brunette with medium-length hair which Ron came to realize was Tracey Davis. "You spent too much time -"_

_"Don't you finish it!" she said with a scowl. "This is not good!"_

_"There's no coming back." said Tracey as she stood up. "There's only two outcomes – well, there's a third but I doubt you'll take it." Daphne shot a look at her and Tracey continued, "With the things that are happening right now especially those wizards roaming around, it's to be expected. For sure, people like me will be next in line -"_

_"You're too pessi -"_

_"I'm being realistic," said the brunette. She raised her wand and stared at it. "I've already made my choice." _

Ron wondered what Tracey was implying but the vision vanished seconds later. "Why are you looking like that?" asked Daphne curiously.

He let go of her hand and said, "You're in luck, I got one just now."

Her eyes brightened and said in an almost excited tone, "Ohh what is it?" Ron proceeded to tell her and when he was done, she said thoughtfully, "I sound quite panicked. I wonder what happened…well, there's a year or two until it happens, I'm sure it's something important."

"I wonder what Davis is talking about though," he frowned. "the wizards she's referring to. It sounds to me that she hates them more than she does to me."

"Don't be silly, she doesn't hate you. She just thinks you're an absolute prat." She said casually to him.

"And that makes me feel so much better," he rolled his eyes. "It's time for you to go. The train's about to start." And he was right. The whistle blew loudly across the station, signalling everyone that it was time.

"I'll go now," she nodded and left. "And you better not break your deal with me." She added before leaving.

"She's a nightmare," he said to himself as he shut the door. As the train moved, he settled himself comfortably and decided to doze off, knowing that staring the view outside the window would eventually make him sleepy in the end. Around noon, someone knocked on the door which woke Ron up and it turned out to be the trolley lady, offering sweets of all sorts. He bought a pack of Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Blott's Every Flavor Bean with the money he gained from numerous minor bets during the past three years' worth of Quidditch matches at Hogwarts (it was small, ranging from three to four Galleons up to five Galleons, sometimes up to ten, depending on how much they were willing to bet).

While he ate, Ginny and Luna visited him and spent the rest of ride with him in the compartment with Ron introducing Damon to the odd blonde Ravenclaw. "He takes after you, Ron." Said Luna while patting Damon on the head.

"You mean his eating?" teased Ginny.

Ron scowled but grinned right after. "Oi! That's uncalled for!"

The youngest Weasley playfully ignored him. "So, I heard something from the other students – it really sounds interesting if you ask me…" she said thoughtfully.

"What's it about?" he asked but he had a strong feeling what it was.

"Well, from what I could tell, it sounds like a tournament -" Ginny began but stopped when she saw Ron's expression. "You know it. Come on, tell us!"

"It's not like I know it!" he lied. "I overheard Dad and the others talking about it." Then he told them about what he knew. When he was done, Ginny was staring at him in awe while Luna looked the same as always.

"Ohh the Triwizard Tournament?" she said in wonder. "That sounds really brilliant! So a student from each school will be chosen to represent and they will have to compete against each other for a prize, right? Who do you think will represent Hogwarts?"

"I dunno," he said honestly. "Maybe someone who is capable enough, I think."

They continued to talk until they realized that they were almost at Hogsmeade station. Both Ginny and Luna bid Ron to change to their robes before leaving the compartment. Ron let out a sigh before looking down at Damon. "This year's going to be interesting, don't you think so? Come on, let's get you back inside and I've bring you over to Hagrid."

He changed his clothes to his robes and waited for the last few minutes until the train pulled to a stop. He carried the crate with Damon inside and stepped out of the train, looking for the gamekeeper. It didn't took him long since he saw his huge figure standing with the other first years. He made to move but thought otherwise since Hagrid seemed busy doing his duty to guide the first years. Shrugging, he made his way to the carriages and rode one but before he could motion the carriage to start moving, two younger students stepped in. "What the -?" swore Ron.

"Oh I'm sorry," apologised the girl and Ron took notice that it was Daphne's younger sister, Astoria. "There's not much carriages left so I -"

"We'll leave if you like," said the boy, looking somewhat nervous.

Ron stared at the two but sighed. "No, no, you two can stay." He said slowly.

"Thank you Rona -"

"Don't call me with my full name," interrupted the redhead exasperatedly. "I had enough hearing that from your sister. Ron is enough." Moments later, the carriage began to move.

"If that is what you want…Ron," said Astoria shyly, her cheeks reddening slightly.

Silence filled the carriage and Ron stared at the two younger students in front of him. Without much thought, he said bluntly, "So you two are dating?" Astoria squeaked while the boy yelped. "Is that a yes?"

"N-no!" the younger Greengrass denied. "He's a good friend of mine. His name is Elliot Westwood. He's from Ravenclaw."

"Hi," said Elliot the Ravenclaw awkwardly.

"Ron Weasley," introduced the redhead himself to the boy. "Well, we're here. Trot now, you two."

The two students left the carriage and Ron got out right after, carrying the dog crate with him. He took a different path, away from the Great Hall where he heard a number of students shrieking and Peeves cackling madly. He stopped walking after a few minutes, standing in a corner where he knew where Hagrid led him with other first years to McGonagall three years ago. "…I'll take over from here, Hagrid. Thank you." Came McGonagall's voice.

The heavy footsteps of Hagrids echoed across the corridor and when he appeared from the corner, Ron greeted suddenly, "Hey Hagrid -"

"Wha' – Ron!" said Hagrid in response, surprised to see him. "Wha' brings yeh here?"

"Actually, I'm looking for you," he said brightly. "I have a familiar and he's part-Krup." He gestured Damon from inside the crate and said, "Professor Dumbledore and Snape agreed to let me bring him but I can't let him stay inside the Slytherin common room because he might eat something like spare quills, parchments, those things. So I'm asking you if I can let him stay at your place? I promise I'll visit him every day and I'll feed him, I just need -"

"Sure, yer pet can stay at meh hut," said Hagrid, patting Ron on the back, not realising Ron was trying his best not to fall off-balance. "Wha's his name?"

"His name is Damon," answered Ron with a grin, glad that his worry for his familiar was gone. "Thank you for this, Hagrid – I'll ask Mum to bring you some Fudge cakes, she's really good -"

"Yeh don' need ter bother," said the gamekeeper, waving his hand offhandedly. "Now, I'll be goin' back to meh hut."

Ron bent down to see Damon and said, "Okay Damon, you'll be staying at Hagrid's – sorry if I can't bring you to the dormitory but I can't risk you being a target to those gits. Be nice to Hagrid and don't eat anything you see, alright?" He handed him to Hagrid, thanked him again before going to the Great Hall where he managed to arrive seconds earlier before the first years. The Great Hall fell silent and the Sorting Hat began to sing, having everyone paying attention to what it said. When it was done, McGonagall began calling the first years' names to come up on the stage and be sorted.

"Come on, I'm bloody starving," muttered Ron as he waited impatiently for the sorting to end. Fortunately enough, the sorting didn't take too long and Dumbledore stood up from his seat with a wide smile on his face.

"I have only two words to say to you," he told them, his deep voice echoing around the Hall. "_Tuck in_."

And with that, the empty dishes on each House table were filled with food. Ron quickly filled his plate whichever food he could reach and began to eat, satisfying himself. "T'at's be'er," he sighed, his mouth filled with mash potato.

"What? Haven't eaten in days, Weasley?" came's Draco's taunt, earning shrieks and laughs from his peers.

Ron wanted to throw back an insult but ignored him instead. But it didn't deter the Malfoy heir. "So, going to enter, Weasley? Going to try and bring a bit of glory to the family name? There's money involved as well, you know -"

"And are _you?_" retorted Ron this time. He knew what Draco was talking about and he was thankful that Theodore told him about it or he would've looked downright stupid right now. "I doubt you can handle it. You might run out before it starts since you're pretty much of a coward."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "You -"

"That's enough bantering." said Theodore suddenly, his attention on his food. "It's time to eat, not those things. You're ruining my appetite."

"Theodore's correct," agreed Daphne with a smile. "Let's just enjoy the feast. You two can talk about it later."

Draco didn't say a word anymore but glared at Ron's direction. In return, Ron threw a sneer at him.

Dinner became less eventful which suited Ron better since he didn't want to deal with the other boy on the first night. After the last pieces of dessert were finished and everyone was content with the feast, Dumbledore stood up once again. He began giving out notices such as banned items courtesy by Filch the caretaker, students not to enter the Forbidden Forest, students below third year not allowed to enter Hogsmeader, and the last notice he announced caused angry reactions from the students, most particularly the Quidditch teams. "…it is my painful duty to inform you that the Quidditch Cup will not be held this year."

"_WHAT?!_" Quidditch players stood up with shocked expressions planted on their faces. Even Draco and the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch term were standing and angry at the announcement.

"What for?" demanded one student from Hufflepuff.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy –" continued Dumbledore. "but I am sure you will enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -"

His words were stopped when the doors of the Great Hall banged open, the same time the deafening sound of thunder rumbled outside, surprising the students sitting close to it. A man with a staff shrouded with a cloak stood by the doorway and everyone craned their heads to get a better look of him. The man lowered his hood and began walking toward the high stage; every step he took, there was a dull _clunk_ echoed across the Hall. Another flash of lightning appeared across the ceiling. A couple of students gasped and Ron's eyes bulged at the image of the man.

The stranger reached Dumbledore. The two shook hands and the headmaster murmured words to the man. Dumbledore gestured the stranger to a vacant seat and it dawned to the redhead that he could be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"May I introduce you all to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," began Dumbledore after the void of silence. "Professor Moody."

"What did he say? Moody?"

"_The_ Mad-Eye Moody?"

"He looks quite terrible-looking – look at his other eye -"

Dumbledore cleared his throat, keeping the students' attention away from the new Defense professor, and continued with his announcement. "As I was saying earlier, I have the great pleasure in announcing this year at Hogwarts, an event that has not been taken place for over a century –" some of the students perked up and turned their heads to the headmaster, "the Triwizard Tournament will take place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're kidding!" Fred's voice echoed loudly across the hall, earning laughs from the students.

"I'm not kidding, Mr. Weasley, but I do know an excellent one about a -" McGonagall cleared her through loudly and the headmaster said, "- no…now is not the time…Where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament…" He continued but when he mentioned that new restrictions were made to ensure the safety of the age which involved that only students who were seventeen and above could compete to become a champion, other students got angry including Ron's twin older brothers. "…the delegations of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving on October and will be with us for the rest of the year."

"And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning."

Students stood up, scraping the seats and leaving the Great Hall in a hurry while the Prefects were busy calling their House's first years. Ron left the Slytherin table and from the corner of his eye, he saw Dumbledore giving him a fleeting glance. He knew at some point he would have to go to the old wizard to offer his services but it wasn't like he was going be empty-handed.

As he walked, he could hear the chatter amongst the other Slytherin students walking before him. "- I've heard that the school at Beauxbatons is better than at Hogwarts -"

"Who cares about that? How about the boys there? Are they good-looking?"

"- Durmstrang is located somewhere in cold where there's barely sunlight, that's what my father told me -"

"Must be cold if there's barely any sunlight -"

"My father wanted me to enrol at Durmstrang since the old coot Dumbledore is headmaster, he knows the headmaster at Dumstrang – of course, mother didn't want me since it was far away -" Draco drawled, strutting with his peers.

"It's good that you didn't, I heard that Durmstrang is an all-boys institution," simpered Pansy.

Ron supressed the urge to snort after hearing her. Shaking his head, he thought would happen on October and beyond. He still had a lot of things to do and there were a lot of questions left that needed to be answered such as You-Know-Who. He let Pettigrew free and it was certain that the prophecy that the Divination professor would eventually come true but he wasn't sure when.

He had to get ready. Stepping inside the Slytherin dungeons, he couldn't help after much thought that this year would probably as interesting as the previous years. He didn't need to become a Seer to know about this since he was at Hogwarts and strange things usually happen.

* * *

><p><strong><em>This is longer than I expected it would be. <em>**

**_So Damon was allowed to come to Hogwarts but couldn't stay at the Slytherin common room as ordered by Snape which I think is sensible. This is to avoid getting the students' belongings "go missing" and this is also to avoid him as a target amongst Slytherin population. _**

**_The next chapter will cover Mad-Eye Moody, Unforgivable Curses, and possibly a portion of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Depends really but I think the next chapter will be given for Fake!Moody. _**

**_Anyway, that will all for the moment. Leave some bit of reviews, eh?_**


	28. Chapter 27

The moment he arrived at the Slytherin table the next day, he knew that the topic the students would be talking about was the Triwizard Tournament. Most of the students seemed to incline on the idea of becoming Hogwarts champion. Some complained that the age-limit was unfair but others thought it was well-reasoned since the tournament, no matter how much precaution they put, was still risky and dangerous to the ones who would be chosen.

Ron had to admit, it would be pretty awesome if he could be chosen as champion if the age-limit wasn't there but he had other things to prioritise so watching the tournament would be more than enough for him.

He sat down and he could see Snape giving out schedules from his end; the potions master turned to him and flicked his wand and a piece of paper floated to his direction. Ron grabbed the paper and unfolded it, checking his class schedule. "Mr. Weasley," drawled Snape. "I expect you to be responsible this year."

"I will sir," said Ron with a nod, remembering Damon. He grabbed the nearest food he could reach and ate hastily and when he was done, he took some kippers and bacon in a napkin and brought it with him all the way to Hagrid's hut where his familiar was staying. He knocked on the huge wooden door and waited. The door swung open and in front of him stood the huge gamekeeper. "Morning Hagrid," he greeted with a grin.

"Ah Ron, yeh're here," he said in his booming voice. "Visiting yer dog, yeah?"

The redhead nodded. "I brought him some bits of breakfast in case he's hungry. He's part-Krup after all."

"C'mon in," said Hagrid, stepping aside and letting Ron in. "He's kippin' under the table. Seems ter like the spot."

Ron went inside. "Come on Damon, I'm here." He said loudly. A bark came after and Damon bounded over to him, his tails wagging happily. "You seem happy. That's good," he muttered to himself with a smile. "Here's some food I got. Hope you like it." He unwrapped the handkerchief and offered the food to his familiar who ate everything without complaint. He took him out of the hut and let him run around, watching him with a grin on his face. After a couple of minutes, he put him back inside. "I'd better go now. Thanks again, Hagrid." He said while turning to Hagrid.

"It's no problem," said Hagrid. "Just visit anytime."

Ron left the hut and went back inside the castle to attend to his first class which was Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs. It was the same as the previous years except that McGonagall would mention that the following would be their OWL year and they have to work hard for it. Ron didn't want to be reminded of it so he pushed it away from his main thoughts and barely listened to the first day's lecture. After the next lesson would be Charms with the Ravenclaws which wasn't much although Flitwick mentioned some of the spells they would be learning such as the Summoning Charm, Banishing Charm (the opposite of the Summoning Charm), and among others.

By the time it was lunchtime, Ron was one of the few who returned to the Slytherin table with an empty stomach. He piled his plate with almost everything and munched down on his food, ignoring the others blissfully. After lunch, he had to attend his last subject for the day which was double Muggle Studies.

He wouldn't admit it much but he was very much fascinated with Muggles and their inventions like his dad. He was pleased enough that he passed with an E and he was eager to learn more this year. Before he could enter the classroom, he heard someone call his name. "Ronald!"

Ron sighed. There was only one person who always called him that. "Oh it's you," he said gruffly, his mood dropping the moment he faced her.

"Aren't you cheery today?" she said brightly.

Ron knew too much it was an act and he could almost hear her say "You should be happy to see me. Act like one!". "First day, is all," he said flatly as he opened the door.

"You're such a gentleman," said Daphne, letting out a tinkering laugh as she walked inside the classroom before Ron could. "We should sit together."

"Uh," he said slowly, but after seeing Daphne's hardened gaze while smiling, he said while muttering, "Fine. Let's sit at the back." He dragged himself to the leftmost end of the room and dumping his bag under the desk. "So, you're really going to push for this whole shebang?"

"You should know by now that I always get what I want," she said while arranging her notes without looking at him. "But don't worry too much. I won't go to you as often as you think right now. I'm just taking this chance since we're the only Slytherins attending this class. It's that simple, really Ronald."

"Will you stop calling me with my whole name?" he hissed exasperatedly. "You've been calling me that for the past three years."

Daphne ignored him. "Give me your hand," she instructed without looking up. Ron let out a frustrated sigh. "before the room fills up."

"Only two minutes," he reminded her with a glare.

"I know that. Just do it."

Sneaking a glance to his surroundings, he gave a nod and slowly moved to her hand. It was weird for him, he admitted but he wanted to end it sooner. Throwing away his reluctance, he grabbed her hand. It was very different from the previous times they had their hands hold together. It wasn't a handshake and he honestly felt awkward holding her hand for two whole minutes.

_Maybe it should have been a minute_, he thought mentally. _Or less._

It seemed like eternity but the moment the second hand struck at two minutes, Ron quickly withdrew his hand and scooted his seat away from her. She rolled her eyes in response. "Seen anything?" she asked quietly.

"Nope."

Although by the end of the first lesson of Muggle Studies, Professor Charity Burbage gave them a project that would be passed on the last day of the first term about picking one Muggle invention and what contributions it gave to Muggle society. "So what Muggle invention are you going to research?" asked Daphne curiously after the lesson.

"I dunno," he shrugged but his mind did start to wonder with that topic. "Something simple I guess."

Both of them returned to the Slytherin dungeons where he went to the dormitory to put away his things while Daphne went over to Pansy and the rest of the Slytherin girls of her year.

"Been with Greengrass?" said Theodore as a greeting to Ron who just entered. He was lounging on his bed with a book opened in one hand.

"Are you teasing me?" demanded the redhead. "And besides, you know she and I have Muggle Studies."

Thedore shrugged. "I suppose you're going to start practising spells again, am I correct?"

Ron removed his school robes from himself and reached to open his trunk. "Yeah. Why?"

"I suggest you try learning duelling at the moment." said the dark-haired teen. "You and I both know you know enough spells more than anyone else here in our year but you have to admit, you're not a good duellist. There's no technique every time you throw a spell."

"And you have?" he said with an eyebrow raised.

"I have duelling lessons with my father every summer, even before attending Hogwarts." answered Theodore bluntly. "And you wonder how I was able to dodge your spells on our first year."

Ron thought he had a point but he wouldn't admit it to him.

"Well? What do you think?"

"Who's going to teach me? You?" he questioned, turning to face him.

"The answer is rather obvious. Yes, I'll be the one teaching you," said Thedore as he set the book down. "Do you expect someone like Goyle teach you?"

Ron ignored his sarcastic remark. "We can do that this coming weekend. Greengrass will have to know about this – you know she's nosy." Letting out a sigh, he put his attention back to the contents of his trunk and pulled out a book he secretly purchased when he and the rest of the family went to Diagon Alley to buy school things.

When it was time for dinner, Ron's mood turned for the worse.

Draco and his cronies made their way to his direction with a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hand. "Hey Weasley!" sneered Draco. "Your dad's in the paper!" His loud voice caught some of the students' attention which pleased him even further. "Listen to this!"

_**FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC**_

**It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, writes ****Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent.**

**Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley,** **of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.** **Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago,** **was yesterday involved with a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ('policemen') over a number of highly aggressive dustbins.**

**Mr Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. **

**Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer**** Daily Prophet ****questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene.**

When he was done, he brandished the newspaper for everyone to see and added, "And there's a picture of your parents outside your house – wait, is that even a house?" at this remark, Crabbe and Goyle, including Pansy and some of the older students laughed out loud.

Ron's face was red and his hand was itching to grab his wand and hex the blonde Slytherin in front of him.

"Your mother could use losing some weight, couldn't she -?"

Ron growled as he stood up. "You're the one to talk – do you know how your mother looks? It's like she smelled something horrible just right her nose, or maybe you're with her -?"

"Don't you dare insult my mother!" hissed Draco.

"Then don't insult mine, you twit." he sneered before turning his back away from him. "And besides, Skeeter is rather stupid naming my dad wrong. Just goes to show how bogus she is."

But it seemed Draco wasn't going to give up. He pulled out his wand and was about to throw a hex at his back when someone stopped him.

BANG!

Ron whirled around with his wand at ready, expecting something when he saw a white ferret hovering in mid-air. "What?" he blinked. He saw Draco no more and from the looks of the students' faces, a thought entered his mind. He looked around and to his surprise, he saw Moody with his wand out pointing at the white ferret.

"Did he get you?" said Moody with a low growl, his normal eye on Ron while the magical eye seemed to be looking behind his head.

"No." responded Ron, looking rather bewildered at the moment.

Without much ado, Moody began bouncing the ferret higher and higher and Draco the ferret was squealing in pain. "I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," growled Moody, as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do..."

Hermione, who was standing a few feet away, was about to open her mouth to say something stopped when McGonagall's voice shrieked from the other side of the Hall. "Professor Moody! What are you do - _Is_ that a student?" she cried as the books she carried in her arms fell on the floor with a clatter.

"Yes, it is," said Moody matter-of-factly, his normal eye still on the white bouncing ferret.

McGonagall quickly used her wand and returned Draco back to normal. "Transfiguration is never used to punish students! That's why there are detentions! Or at least speak to the offender's Head of House! Surely the headmaster told you?" she said fiercely as she turned to Moody.

"He might have mentioned that, yes." Said Moody without care.

Draco glared at Moody hatefully. "My father hears about this…" he said angrily.

"Your father, eh?" said Moody with a scary grin on his face. "I had the pleasure of meeting your father back in the day…it wasn't pleasant for him." He pulled Draco by the upper arm and dragged him roughly with him to the dungeons. "Now your Head is Snape, eh? An old friend…I've been looking forward to speak with him."

When they are gone, Hermione asked Ron. "Are you all right?"

"Never been better," said Ron wistfully. "Draco…the amazing bouncing ferret." After the amusing scenario, Ron couldn't help but look forward to attending Defense lesson.

* * *

><p>Since that day, Ron wanted to know what Moody's lessons were like and he went to his twin brothers since they already had a lesson with him yesterday. "What can we say about his first lesson with us?" remarked Fred airily on a fine Thursday noon at lunch.<p>

"It's really -" said George.

"- mind-blowing," inputted Fred.

"- tremendously educational," added George.

"- awe-aspiring," chipped in his twin.

"- brilliant." Finished the two identical twins.

"He's _the_ Auror." Said George with a wistful look in his expression. "He's seen everything…like everything."

"But he's paranoid," supplied Fred. "anyway, that pretty much sums up."

Ron shook his head. "That was helpful." He muttered to himself. "Thanks anyway." He was itching to know; the other Houses such as the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs already had their first lesson with him and the reaction was similar with the others.

But his wait ended the following morning.

They had double Defense at eight in the morning and Ron woke up early for this. The other Slytherins, particularly Draco and his cronies, weren't as eager as he was but Ron figured it was because his father was (or still is, thought Ron) a Death Eater and Moody was a famous Auror of his prime who might had caught him right after You-Know-Who was defeated. Also, what the ex-Auror did to the Malfoy heir two days ago.

He made up his mind to sit on the second row, not too close but he could get a view in case Moody would show them something. The classroom was soon filled up with students. The rest of the Slytherins except for Tracey who sat in the middle row, took the seats at the end of the classroom while the rest of the Ravenclaws took the seat on the front. Shortly after eight, the door creaked open and Moody came in. Almost everyone was in awe of him, some were scared due to his appearance. Ron heard a couple of stories from his father about the wizard and he hoped he could see something interesting in this first lesson.

And it was. The first discussion they had was the Unforgivable Curses and he and the rest of the students inside the classroom got to see the effects of each Curse personally.

"Isn't it ille -" stammered Lisa Turpin from Ravenclaw, her hand raised in the air.

"I know the Ministry wouldn't like it," growled Moody. "But it's important that you know what you facing. Always be alert. _Constant Vigilance!_" he shouted and everyone jumped in their seat. He flicked his wand and three jars appeared on the front desk.

Ron cringed. Inside of each jar was a spider.

"Now, who can tell me the three Unforgivable Curses? Anyone?" No one dared to raise their hand, even the Slytherins. But Ron did even he was scared at the sight of the arachnid. "Your name?" he barked.

"Ronald Weasley," he said while forcing to keep his voice steady and keep his gaze from landing on the jars. "I heard my dad talking about the – the Imperius Curse."

Moody's normal eye gleamed at his answer. "Ah yes. The Ministry had a hard time with that curse. The Imperius Curse is one of the most popular curses used during the reign of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. After the war, number of wizards would claim they were Imperiused." He opened one of the jars and took out the tarantula inside. "_Imperio!_" he said, pointing his wand.

The spider suddenly stood up as if having only two feet and began tap-dancing. Then it did somersaults, and jumped like a rabbit or a frog. Soon almost everyone was laughing except for Ron, Daphne and Theodore.

"You think it's funny?" said Moody, his wand still pointing at the tarantula. "What if I ordered it to jump outside the window? Or drown itself in water? Even jump itself in one of your throats?" The students abruptly stopped, staring at the ex-Auror in shock. "Total control. The caster can order the victim whatever he or she wants to do – kill a fellow friend, steal, get information, everything you can think of. The Ministry had a hard time identifying who were under the curse or pretending to be. That's the reason why the Imperius curse is one of the Unforgivable Curses." He returned the first spider back inside the jar and sealed it.

"Now, who can tell me the other two curses?" One of the Ravenclaws raised his hand. "Name?" barked Moody.

"A-Anthony Goldstein," answered the teen. "The curse – er – it's the Cruciatus curse, I believe."

Moody's normal eye gleamed at the mention and Ron couldn't help but shiver mentally at the image. "The Cruciatus curse. The curse needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea." He took out the second spider from the next jar and pointed his wand at it. "_Engorgio!_" The spider grew until it was as big as a tarantula. Ron backed away. Moody raised his wand again after looking satisfied at the size and said, "_Crucio!_"

The spider began twitching and rolled over as it was on fire. Moody didn't stop and the spider convulsed relentlessly and Ron could imagine it screaming if it had a voice.

The rest of the students were silent, stunned of what they were witnessing in front of their eyes.

After what seemed to be an hour, Moody lifted the curse and returned the spider to its original size. "Total pain. That's what the Cruciatus curse can do. Stay under this curse for long periods of time, there is a likely possibility that the victim will lose his sanity. It's a popular one amongst Death Eaters."

"For the last Unforgivable Curse, who knows it?"

Almost everyone was too stunned to answer that no one raised their hand. Except for Theodore. "_Avada Kedavra,_" he said tonelessly.

"Avada Kedavra. The worst of the three." He opened the third jar and the spider inside began to scuttle away from his advancing hand as if knowing what would happen next. With the spider in his hand, he raised his wand and shouted, "_Avada Kedavra!_"

Bright green light shot out from his wand and aimed on the spider. Once the green light was gone, the spider was motionless. It was dead.

"The last curse is the Killing Curse. Get hit by it and you're dead. There's not counter-curse that can stop it." Moody put the dead spider back inside the jar and face the whole class once more. "The three Unforgivable Curses – use any of the three and it's a one-way ticket to Azkaban for a lifetime. Now why am I showing you all of this? Because you need to know what the worst is. You need to be prepared. You don't want to find yourself in a situation don't you know what you're facing. _CONSTANT VIGILANCE I TELL YOU!_" he roared and the students jumped in their seats once more. "Get out your quills and start copying…"

The bell rang after a couple of minutes and the students quickly went out of the classroom to discuss their first Defense lesson. Ron hastily shoved his quill and parchments inside his bag before leaving the classroom but as soon as he got out, he looked back with a feeling as if someone was watching him. But he saw no one.

"What's wrong? Next lesson will start in ten minutes," said Daphne suddenly, snapping his thoughts.

"Oh right," said Ron while shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

"Interesting lesson, isn't it?" mused Theodore while walking on Ron's left. "I've never thought Dumbledore would allow him to teach us that until we're in sixth year."

"Yeah, I suppose." Said the redhead. "But since he knows that You-Know-Who will return sometime, I guess he thought it's best to teach us as early as now. Well, that's what I think anyway."

"Fair point," nodded Daphne. "So, Theodore told me he's going to teach us duelling. When's the date?"

Ron gave her a scathing look. "This coming week. We're going to have it in the usual place."

"All right," she said. "Until then." She flipped her hair and moved forward to catch up with her female housemates and began talking to them and giggling.

"Why do I get the feeling that something wrong's going to happen?" muttered Ron to himself.

"Because it's bound to happen, especially if you're not concentrating enough." Answered Theodore with a shrug. "So when are you going to Dumbledore to give your _services_? I'm sure even he wants to know what will happen next in the coming months."

"Dunno. Maybe when something big comes up and he'll have to get information from me." After that conversation, they didn't say anything else to each other and minded their own business. Ron didn't want to think how busy he was going to be this year but he knew there were things that needed to be dealt with in order to get the results he wanted. "When will Krum come to Hogwarts, hm?" he mused as he tried to lighten the mood to himself.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And that's the end of this chapter. <strong>_

_**Ron couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. By who? Well it's rather obvious anyway. And so the next chapter will be about the arrival of Beauxbatons andDurmstrang. And yes, we'll get to see Theodore teaching duelling to Ron and Daphne. Ron had shaken and hold a number of hands but holding someone's hand for more than a few seconds would be weird for him and if someone gets to see him holding Daphne's hand, well rumours might spread around Hogwarts and that's exactly what Ron wouldn't want to happen. But who knows? It might be good. Or not.**_

_**Hm some of you might wonder why Fake!Moody is a bit keen on Ron. Well, it'll be revealed in a couple of chapters, I suppose. Hoping for some reviews. And advance thanks for giving me more than 250 reviews for this story!**_


	29. Chapter 28

Ron was lying on his bed, snoring lowly with half of his face covered by his pillow. Lying there unaware, his curtains were pushed aside and a gush of water spurted out magically as a defence mechanism to those who dared disturb him. However, nothing came in contact with the water.

"Come on, get up." Said a familiar voice.

"I'm still hungry, Mum…" mumbled Ron, his eyes still closed.

The person standing in front of Ron let out a small sigh. The next thing that happened was Ron was lying on the floor with the bed covers tangled around his body. "What on Merlin's sagging…!" he hollered, his head appearing from the covers and revealing his messy hair. He looked around and his eyes landed on the perpetrator.

"Nott! What the bloody hell's wrong with you? I'm sleeping here!" he said angrily as he tried to stand up.

"Aren't you cheerful today?" Theodore drawled. "Time to get up, I said. We're going to start duel lessons in an hour."

Ron peered to the wall clock near the doorway and scowled. "It's only seven-twelve in the morning – I need more sleep." he grumbled as he tried to return to his bed but Theodore flicked his wand and Ron was on the floor again. "You're going to pay for this!" he growled.

"Fine, if you can beat me." said the other teen smoothly. "Greengrass is already at the Great Hall."

"Okay, okay." he scowled.

When he was finally able to stand up, he didn't bother returning to his bed knowing Theodore would do something to him (he was going to make sure he'd pay him back when he'd least expect it) and went in the bathroom.

* * *

><p>"Took you long enough." commented Theodore as Ron went inside the room through the mirror.<p>

"What, I can't eat?" Ron retorted.

Theodore was about to respond but Daphne, who was sitting in the far right corner of the room, interrupted him. "That's enough bantering, you two. We're here to learn how to duel, right?" she said as she stood up, her wand already in her hand.

"That is the reason why we're here," the dark-haired teen nodded once. "Now, before we start, I need you to tell me if you know the basics of duelling." He shot the question to Daphne, expecting her to answer.

"I only know the formal method of duelling." answered Daphne simply. "My father explained it me last summer. He didn't exactly teach me how but he taught me the mechanics and what entailed in a formal duel." Seeing Theodore nod, she continued. "The formal duel should be agreed by both parties, this includes the rules that will eventually govern the whole duel should the duel commence."

"That is correct," nodded Theodore. "If we didn't have Lockhart as a Defense professor, we would've seen an example of what a formal duel should be. The formal duel will always start with the two duellists bowing to each other with their wand hand placed over where the heart is."

"And if the duellist is a left-handed?" inquired Ron with one eyebrow raised.

"It's rare for a wizard to be left-handed, especially if they are duellists." said Theodore with a shrug. "But it is acceptable if they placed their wand hand on the other side of the chest. Anyway, once the duel starts, both duellists must follow the rules they both agreed. For instance, they cannot use harmful spells such as the Unforgivable Curses, or if they want there is a set of rounds with a time limit and the one who has the most number of wins is the victor of the whole duel."

"What is crucial about a formal duel is that it is similar to a Wizarding Oath. Abandoning it has huge consequences for the one who wishes to back out."

"Such as?" asked Ron curiously.

"The most usual case is that the magic core of the wizard will be reduced in half or more to the point the he or she can be considered as a Squib." said Daphne this time. "That's why formal duels are treated seriously. The duellist's pride and family name are at stake."

Ron nodded in understanding. "So if there's the formal method, then there's an opposite of it right?"

Theodore nodded; mildly impressed Ron had guessed it that fast. "The other method is unorthodox. It's simply a duel with no rules. The duellists can do whatever they want in order to win, which means that cheating is a normal occurrence."

"And now we'll start learning the formal method." Theodore instructed both Ron and Daphne from their posture to the wand their grip of their wands. A couple of minutes passed by and Theodore decided to test the waters. "Let's see if you two listened. The two of you will duel-"

"What?" reacted Ron, "You've got to be joking!"

Daphne shot him a look, "Afraid of me, Ronald?"

"Of course not! I just don't think that duelling you is fair since you're…well…" He glanced at her from head to toe, thinking that it wouldn't be much of a match.

"- a girl?" she finished with her eyes narrowing. "You're going to regret that."

"The rules…" coughed Theodore, wanting to get things back on track. "You two can only use three spells – Disarming, Stunning and one spell you can choose for your advantage. The time limit is three minutes. You may start…" he eyed on the two who were now poised to duel. "…now."

"_Stupefy!_" cried Daphne, jabbing her wand at Ron's direction.

Red light shot out from Daphne's wand and Ron sidestepped to the right and returned fire, "_Expelliarmus!_" Daphne dodged his spell and seeing where she moved, he shot another spell. "_Stupefy!_"

"_Stupefy! Expelliarmus! Expelliarmus!_" Daphne's spell came one after the other relentlessly which gave Ron a hard time.

Ron rolled over the floor and shouted, "_Stupefy!_" his spell hit Daphne's right ankle, causing the blonde Slytherin to lose balance. Taking this chance, he scrambled to his feet and shot another spell. "_Incarcerous!_" thick ropes sprang from the tip of Ron's wand, shooting straight toward Daphne's direction.

Daphne's eyes widened but managed to avoid it by regaining her balance and ducking out of the way. "_Expelliarmus!_" she aimed at Ron's wand hand but seeing him move away, she pointed her wand at the floor at Ron's feet and shouted, "_Lubrico!_"

"What are you aiming…?" said Ron as if to tease her but stopped as he felt that the floor became slippery. "What?!"

"_Expelliarmus!_" Ron's wand was out of his grasp, spinning up in the air like a baton. Daphne raised her hand and caught it, smirking at the sight of Ron's scowling expression. "It's rather obvious who's the winner, hm?" she said coolly. "You were saying earlier, Ronald?"

Ron grumbled under his breath as he tried to stand up and couldn't. "Will you remove what you cast on the floor? I can't stand up here if you haven't noticed!" he said heatedly. Daphne arched an eyebrow, expecting him to give her a different response. He let out a frustrated sigh. "Daphne, will you _please_ undo the spell you cast so that I can stand up?"

"That's more like it," she smiled. "_Finite._"

Feeling the floor, he stood up gingerly and patted his robes to remove the dust.

"Obviously the winner of the duel is Daphne," said Theodore casually. "Rather clever to use the Wax spell to throw your enemy off-balance. But both of you still need to work on your movements. There's too much fooling around and wasting strength, it's best to limit as much as possible to avoid exhaustion." He continued to instruct them until it was almost lunchtime (Ron's stomach served as an alarm clock as it grumbled loudly across the room).

"This…is not…how I expected to spend my weekend." protested Ron, wiping his sweating forehead with his back hand. "You're a slave driver!"

Theodore ignored his comment. "Next practice will be next week, same time." He said to the two. "Keep practicing on your strides." Without giving a back glance, he went through the mirror, leaving both Daphne and Ron inside.

"I am in a dire need of another bath." she shook her head. "Ugh, I'm disgusting. I smell like you on a good day!" She scrunched her nose. "I'm going." She went through the mirror without a single glance.

Ron lied on the floor, letting out a sigh. "This is definitely not what I expected to happen this year." He muttered to himself.

And he was correct. For the next two Saturdays, he and Daphne kept practicing under Theodore's tutelage (or rather torture session, Ron thought). Ron had to admit that he could no longer learn more spells at the moment since the homework the professors were piling up by a notch and he barely finished everything every single night before going to sleep. He wouldn't use his Sundays since they were his rest day and his body was sore from practice.

On the fourth day of practice Theodore gave an update.

"While I have to admit you two improved, it's still not much."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" demanded Ron, his hands on his knees while trying to catch his breath. "We're working our arses off for you!"

"You get easily tired." he said shortly as he paced across the room. "You need to be fit in order to duel for long periods of time, adding the pressure of overcoming your opponent is proven to be difficult."

"And you're suggesting…?" said Daphne, staring at him.

"…that physical exercise is needed for this," finished Theodore.

Daphne looked highly affronted. "Excuse me but that's taking things too far!" she protested. "I'm not going to start some kind of rigorous activity in the future; I'm not a Quidditch player! I don't want my muscles to go big like Millicent's!"

Theodore gave her a long look.

"You're getting fat." he said flatly and Daphne let out a gasp. Ron stared at him, stunned speechless. That wasn't the Theodore Nott he knew. "You've been eating too much of those crème puffs, I've noticed." He added giving her a critical look.

"I am?" she cried as she quickly glanced at herself. "Oh Merlin! You're right! Pansy mentioned it few days ago but I thought she was trying to get on my nerves…"

"She's probably correct." he agreed. "This is why physical exercise is needed. This must be the reason why you're not moving quick enough."

"All right, you have a point." She said worriedly, still looking at herself. "What kind of exercise do Ronald and I have to do?"

Ron gawked at her. "Seriously? You're not thinking of-" he spluttered as he stood up straight.

"Well?" she said inquiringly to Theodore who looked as if he was about to win a hundred thousand worth of Galleons from the look of his eyes.

"Five laps around the Black Lake, three times a week, preferably in the morning." He said simply. "It'll increase by two more laps after three weeks if there is little to no progress. Don't worry, I'll join you both."

"And when will this end?" questioned Ron with a frown.

"That depends if you can cast ten spells or more while dodging under a half a minute." he shrugged. "Right now both of you fire four to six spells every half-a-minute considering how slow you two move. Also both of you are contemplating what move you should do next in two-to-three seconds, I've observed. The decision should be in one second or half. The time frame for this could last until before the end of the year, but most likely until November since it'll be too cold by December."

"And you know all of this…?" said Daphne.

"Like I said before, duelling practice with my father." he said casually. "He takes every opportunity to strike when he sees it." This mention met with silence from the other two.

"I suppose it'll start next week, huh?" said Ron scratchily, steering the conversation away from the awkward silence.

"Yes." He nodded.

"I can't believe I'm gaining weight," huffed Daphne. "I should really watch out from now on…" she didn't say anything else and left the room without a word to Ron and Theodore.

Ron gave Theodore a look. "You lied when you said she's getting fat. You only said that so that she'd agree with the whole running laps." It wasn't a question.

"Spot on, Weasley." He said.

"And I thought she'd notice how unnaturally you told her that."

"Females are very self-conscious." said Theodore matter-of-factly. "You have to tell them what they don't want to hear so that they'll do something about it. At least what I always noticed."

Ron thought he had a good point. Both of them left the room and took different paths with Ron deciding to head toward the library to read a book about duelling. He was tired from the practice but he didn't want to waste the rest of his time inside the dormitory sleeping when he could use it to read and learning what he had been doing lately.

He had to admit, he never thought he'd find himself thinking that.

He shifted through the shelves in the Defense section, when he bumped into someone. "Oh, Sorry." he said gruffly but he saw it was Hermione standing next to him.

"Oh Weasley." she said, realising it was him.

"You…you go first," he said, stepping aside to give her more space. He watched her pulled a thick book from the shelf and thanked him.

"No, it's fine." He looked up and a book on the highest column piqued his interest. He took it without much difficulty thanks to his height "So, what're you reading?" he asked casually to her.

"For Moody's homework about the difference between jinxes and counter-jinxes." she responded and she sat on a nearby chair. "I know it's more than one roll but it's best to cover almost everything about the two."

"So, all study and no play?" he raised an eyebrow before opening his book.

"We're at school to study not to have fun all the time," she said reprovingly. "I don't see you goofing off like your twin brothers." She added.

"Well, I'm doing a different kind of fun, not like pranking like Fred and George." Ron lied smoothly. _She's quite observant. _"Been watching me, have you Granger?" he teased, earning an annoyed look from her.

"You're so full of yourself." said Hermione. "Learned that from Malfoy, have you?"

Ron blanched. "I'm not like that!" he said hotly.

"Shh! We're reading!" hissed one seventh year who's from Ravenclaw, shooting him a dark look.

Ron hissed back. "Keep reading, then!" he turned his attention back to Hermione and said in mock protest, "That's not nice comparing me to that ferret, you know."

"It's not nice to assume." pointed out Hermione. "What are you reading?" she asked, gesturing toward Ron's book. "_Duelling Styles throughout the Centuries_?"

"Well…Lessons from Moody makes you want to learn more about fighting against the Dark Arts." He said evasively. "And besides, it could come in handy one day with the things going on."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, nothing." he said hastily. "I just that… if something bad ever happens in the future like…like my family is threatened, I can protect them. Something like that." He looked at her. "Don't Muggles do something similar for basic defence?"

"Yes, they do." agreed Hermione slowly. "There are different styles of self-defence, of course depending on each country due to its origin-"

"Which is exactly what I'm getting at." nodded Ron matter-of-factly. "Everyone wants to be prepared."

The two didn't say another word as they poured their attention the books they had. Ron would skim through the pages, looking for a particular topic that would interest him and when he did, he'd read it, repeating the words inside his mind and imagining the details described. Hermione's head faced on the book while her hand was holding a quill and the other a parchment, scribbling furiously nonstop.

The distant ringing of the bell signalled them that it was lunch now, so they pulled away and stood to leave with Hermione putting her things away in her bag. "I'd better go now, Weasley." She said to him.

"Ron." he blurted out before his face turned red.

"What?" she asked, staring at him confused.

"Call me Ron." he said. He didn't what he was going on about, but all he knew that he was tired of hearing her call him by his last name and he wasn't the only Weasley at Hogwarts at the moment. "We've been talking for the past three years – well, I know more than half of the time we talked weren't exactly good if you remember all of it, but I – well, if you want to…"

"I suggest you call me by my first name, then." She said fairly.

"Alright…Hermione," he said slowly. "Her-mi-oh-nee…Hermione. Can I just call you Mione?" he asked after repeating her name. "Your name's long."

"No, it's Hermione." She said firmly but he could see the corners of her lips twitched slightly. "I'll be going now. I'll see you next time Ron."

"Sure." he nodded. He returned the book back to where he got it and left the library, feeling odd for some reason. _Maybe Luna's rubbing it off me. She did that to me last year anyway._

* * *

><p>Moody's lessons were still interesting. Right now, they were to be put under the Imperius Curse.<p>

"This is getting bizarre." said Ron to Theo as they watched Moody cast the Unforgivable on Terry Boot from Ravenclaw. "What's next? Experience the Cruciatus Curse?"

"Doubtful." said Theodore. "You better watch your words."

"Davis! You're next!" barked Moody as his magical eye spun in different directions.

Tracy left her seat, trying to cover her anxiety. The whole class fell silent as they waited for Moody to cast the spell on her. "_Imperio!_" he said, his wand pointing at her. Ron saw her eyes go glassy for a moment and she began to raise both of her arms over her head before prancing across the room like a ballerina. Her expression was serene and blank and it was obvious that she wasn't feeling any pain as she twisted and twirled with her legs stretching as far as they could go.

When it was over, Tracy snapped back and almost fell down, panting heavily. Millicent decided to help her return to her seat. Ron heard her ask the other Slytherin. "How was it?"

"It's weird…like you don't have a worry and you're at peace." she mumbled. "What did he make me do? My legs feel painful."

"You were acting like a ballerina, Trace." said Pansy, intruding on their conversation. "You were doing a triple pirouette, in fact. You did it two times."

Tracey scowled. When Ron's name was called, he dreaded he would somehow manage to throw it off. He stood in front of the ex-Auror and he didn't like the expression he was wearing on his face. "You ready, Weasley?" he growled. Ron couldn't respond verbally due to his nerves and just nodded once. "_Imperio!_" shouted Moody, his wand at his forehead.

Ron suddenly felt a rush throughout his whole body, he became relaxed and his mind was more calm and peaceful than he felt in his entire life. It was like having a really good dream.

_Act like a frog…_

He crouched down his hands on the floor between his legs.

_Croak loudly…_

Ron obeyed and let out loud croak for everyone to hear. He faintly heard some students snorting and laughing, greatly reminding him of Draco and his cronies but he wasn't paying attention anymore.

_Hop around the classroom while you croak…_

He complied but midway another voice spoke, sounding very irritable. _Why the hell are you listening to him? You're not a bloody frog! You're a wizard!_ Ron couldn't agree more as he grew to be more aware of what he was doing. His eyes snapped open and he let out a yelp as he saw himself crashing on the corner of the classroom instead of moving left.

"Took a while but you almost managed to stop it, Weasley." grunted Moody, making his way over to his direction.

Ron nodded, slowly getting up. He went back to his seat and scowled as he felt his head throb in pain. "He made me act like a frog, didn't he?" he hissed at Theodore.

Theodore nodded. "It was amusing. I'm surprised you almost threw it off."

"And you can?"

"That depends." He answered simply. "It takes a lot of will to really throw off the Imperius Curse." When it was Nott's turn, he was able to throw off the spell but it took less than a minute unlike what Ron had heard from the other class with Harry Potter, who was able to throw it off completely after four times.

Homework continued to pile up as the days went by, which Ron and the others found it rather annoying and stressful since they barely have much time for themselves (but Ron knew that his schedule was tougher since he had to juggle duelling lessons and learning new spells). At the entrance hall, a huge crowd surrounding a large sign was blocking the way to the Great Hall, making it hard for some students to go through. "What's happening?" asked Astoria as she passed by, looking at the crowd curiously.

"It must be something worth checking out," mused Daphne. "Ronald, why don't you check it for me?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyebrows at him.

Ron wanted to tell her to go find out for herself but he knew it was futile since he knew her well enough that she would get what she wanted either way, so he went there (he had to admit to himself, he was curious as well) and read the notice.

**TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT**

**THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG WILL BE ARRIVING AT 6 O'CLOCK ON FRIDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. LESSONS WILL END HALF AN HOUR EARLY – STUDENTS WILL RETURN THEIR BAGS AND BOOKS TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORE THE WELCOMING FEAST.**

"What does it say?" asked Daphne.

"It's about the Triwizard Tournament -" began Ron and the other students who were not aware glanced his way to listen. "'Says that the representatives of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be coming in a week so all of us have to get ready and greet them."

"Oh that's going to be interesting!" barged in Pansy as she pulled Daphne with her. "We need to talk, Daphne."

Ron and Astoria stared at the two until they were out of sight. "What's that?" inquired Astoria curiously.

"I have no idea, don't ask me." He said blankly. He caught a glimpse of Ginny and Luna walking together with another girl he thought was one of Ginny's housemates. He walked over to them.

"It's been awhile, how're you two?" he asked.

"Hi Ron." said Luna in her usual dreamy tone. "There's barely any Wrackspurts surrounding you. You must be doing well lately."

"Tired with the homework but I'm feeling better, yeah." He nodded. He shouldn't be surprised that Luna would be the first one to notice any changes about him, whether or not he knew of it. "So who do you think who's going to be Hogwarts Champion?"

"I heard Angelina's going to try out." said Ginny. "She's the same year with Fred and George but she'll be seventeen this year. Anyway, I'd like you to meet Demelza Robbins. She's the same year as us and she's in Gryffindor. Demelza, he's Ron from Slytherin." she introduced the other girl. Unlike Luna who looked as if she was unaware of her surroundings and Ginny who was aware and high-spirited, Demelza seemed the type who was optimistic and bubbly.

"Hi, I've heard a couple of things from Ginny and Luna." she chirped. "You don't look as grouchy as I thought you'd be."

Ron raised an eyebrow at her. "That's what you thought about me?"

"He's been moody since he landed in Slytherin but he's still Ron." said Ginny airily. "He wouldn't hurt a fly, really." Turning to Ron, she added, "I've heard that Cedric's planning on entering!"

"You mean Diggory?" he said, surprised. "Is he going to try out?"

"That's what I've heard recently," she shrugged. "He's a seventh year and one of the best students in his year from what I know. And he's prefect."

"I think you mean he's handsome." he teased. Ginny smacked his arm, her cheeks slightly red.

"He'd make a good Hogwarts Champion," said Luna. "He's nice to everyone and likes to help out."

"So, how about you? Going steady with Greengrass?" teased Ginny this time. "I saw you talking to her. Really, I've never thought you'd go for one of the Snake girls, even a pretty one."

"Isn't she the girl talking to you few minutes ago? She's pretty but I heard she was snobby." thought Demelza loudly. "She must be nice enough if you're talking to her."

Ron's face turned crimson red. "I'm not interested in her!" he said hotly, earning curious looks from the other students passing by. "Just drop it already. I'm just talking to her earlier because she's wondering what the commotion is all about."

"And you're gracious enough to look for her, hm?" smirked Ginny. Demelza nodded in agreement.

"My lovelife …or lack of it… is none of your concern, Gin. Why bother asking?" he said flatly.

"Because you're easily annoyed, I think." said Luna honestly. "And most girls do like to know about boys' interest in the opposite sex."

"Okay, we're ending this conversation." he said while shaking his head. Although his wasn't as red as earlier, his ears still were. "I shouldn't have bothered you if we were going to talk like this." He turned around and left them.

"It's nice to talk to you, too!" called out Ginny, grinning.

Ron didn't look back to retort and kept moving toward the Slytherin table to eat lunch. For the rest of the month the main topic most students talked about was the Triwizard Tournament. It was like the first day right after Dumbledore announced the event. He could see that there were changes happening around the castle such as the suits of armours looking good as new, several portraits were cleaned as well, and the chandeliers were almost glittering.

When October 30th arrived, everyone was anticipating the arrival. The Slytherins and Gryffindors had their Potions class end thirty minutes earlier which displeased Snape (he announced a week before that he would be having the whole class test if their antidotes were working, but Ron thought his words were directed to the Gryffindors in particular) and they hurried back to the dungeons to return their bags and other belongings.

"I guess there's finally a use for these silly hats." said Blaise as he picked up his, giving it a dirty look.

"Yes, we look very fetching, don't you think?" sneered Draco, grabbing his in distaste. "Let's go Crabbe, Goyle." He said to his two goons who grunted in response.

Ron rolled his eyes when they, including the Italian Slytherin, left the dormitory. "I like him better when he's transfigured as an albino ferret." He snorted, opening his trunk to find his black hat.

"Only you in this House would think that way," said Theodore to him.

"I can think of a couple who hates his guts, mind you." He said pointedly. "Come on."

* * *

><p><strong><em>I've noticed that I'm posting somewhat faster. Maybe I'm motivated by something.<em>**

**_This chapter mostly covers most part of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang and the next chapter will cover the rest of the B&D and the Goblet of Fire. I do hope that I did a bit of justice with regard to duelling since I'm not much of a pro and I can imagine Ron getting his arse kicked by no other than Daphne, especially when he made that comment about girls. Probably all girls would feel the same way as Daphne._**

**_Personally speaking, I think AU!Ron is more capable of trying to throw off the Imperius Curse rather than Canon!Ron would but the difference is their determination and perspective on their surroundings. Also with Theodore, he's more knowledgeable and yes, he implied that he's been subjected with more than an ounce of pain while learning duelling with his father. Hm, that's not exactly good parenting but it does disciplines a child at some point (but not often mind you. Abuse is still abuse)._**

**_I know it's advance but I would like to greet everyone happy Valentines day for those with dates and all, and Happy Singles day for people like who love loving ourselves ahaha just kidding._**

**_Edited by my fellow cyberpal whose birthday is on Feb 14! Belated Happy Birthday to you!_**


	30. Chapter 29

Ron and Theodore arrived at the entrance hall, full of all the students from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Five colourful banners hung on the ceiling representing each House and the one in the middle, back behind the high table, was the Hogwarts coat of arms.

From where he stood, he could see McGonagall berating a couple of students from her House, he joined his fellow fourth year Slytherins and lined up behind Theodore since he was the tallest in their year (although Crabbe and Goyle were the largest among them) and looked around until Snape swept by them.

"I expect all of you to be on your best behaviour." he said in a low tone but all of the Slytherins heard him clearly. He glanced all of them and gave them a nod, satisfied with their behaviour. He turned around and went back with the other professors to the back.

And so they waited. Some of the students, especially the first years, were beginning to get bored until someone from the far right of the hall gave a shout. "I see something! It's flying over here!"

"What is it?" asked another student, probably from Hufflepuff, standing tip-toe to see what others had seen.

"I think it's a dragon!" squeaked one first year.

"Don't be stupid, it's a flying house!" retorted another first year with mousy brown hair.

Ron squinted his eyes at the clear sky and said, "Not a house, yeah but I think it's-"

"It's a carriage." said Tracey pointedly, staring at the incoming vehicle.

"Being pulled by Abraxans, impressive." mused Theodore, arching an eyebrow. "They really want to show off."

Ron couldn't agree more. The horses were huge, as large as a normal two-story house, looking magnificent and powerful. He looked at the coat of arms embedded on the door of the carriage. "Which school do you think they are?" he asked in mild curiosity.

"They're from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, obviously." answered Daphne who heard him. "Mother once told us about the school."

Most of the Slytherins watched as the door creaked open and the person who stepped out surprised everyone who stood closest to the entrance. From where Ron stood, he could tell that the person (if that _was_ a person) was definitely huge. _Huge as Hagrid_, he thought to himself.

When the representatives of Beauxbatons were invited inside with Dumbledore leading them, his gaze remained on the grounds, waiting for Durmstrang. He knew that none of the Beauxbatons were Krum (he read that out of three schools, the years of education to complete at Durmstrang would be eight).

They waited, including the Beauxbatons, for the arrival of the third school. "How will they be getting here, again?" whispered Blaise to Draco. "Even better than Beauxbatons, you said?"

Draco could only smirk. "Bet on it."

No later than ten minutes, a couple of students began whispering wondering where the gurgling sound was coming from. One student shouted in awe, catching the other's attention. "The Black Lake! Look!"

Ron craned his head and to his utter surprise, he saw that there was a whirlpool in the middle of the Black Lake. Then something was streaming up from below – he looked closer and it was then he realised that it was a huge ship.

"Much more dramatic than Beauxbatons, I must say." Daphne commented, mildly amused.

The occupants of the ships stepped off with a thin, slender man wearing a thick expensive-looking fur cloak leading them. He and Dumbledore went to greet each other, and Ron assumed that they've known each other.

"That's Igor Karkaroff." said Draco smugly to his peers. "My father and he are close acquaintances."

Whispers around the students, even amongst Beauxbatons, broke out when one particular student strode with the Durmstrang's headmaster. "It's Krum!"

"Viktor Krum? _The_ Viktor Krum of the Bulgarian Quidditch team?"

"Oh Merlin! I should've brought a quill with me!"

"Do you think he'll sign my hat using my lipstick?"

Ron rolled his eyes at the comment but he couldn't deny that he felt the same as the rest of the students. _Maybe I can get an autograph from him in the library, he seems to like books, _he thought but Hermione's face appeared in his mind, _Oh right, he's there because Mione's there._ He began plotting ways on how to approach the Bulgarian Seeker when he realised that he and the rest of the students were going back inside the Great Hall to their respective tables.

The students from Beauxbatons decided to seat with the Ravenclaws and the students from Durmstrang waited for their headmaster to decide. Ron could see the man's head jerked slightly and his mouth was slowly agape. Before he could react, he was suddenly pushed by Draco's cronies roughly.

"Why you-!" he growled, instinctively grabbing his wand but the Durmstrang students came so he had to drop whatever he was planning on the Malfoy heir.

The moment they settled down, Draco who was sitting beside Krum on his right side, leaned forward and spoke in his most formal, respectful tone: "It's a pleasure to meet you personally, Mr. Krum. My name is Draco Malfoy." He held out his right hand.

Viktor Krum, his expression unusually blank from his usual scowling expression from his posters and pictures, took his hand, shook it firmly and nodded once before looking around the Great Hall in faint interest, similar to his fellow school mates. Ron couldn't help but feel smug inwardly that the famous Seeker inadvertently snubbed the blonde Slytherin.

Draco obviously realised that he had been disregarded. Pansy, sensing the awkwardness spoke soothingly to him, "I don't think he speaks English fluently, Draco."

After that, no one dared to approach the Bulgarian Seeker to avoid getting humiliated among fellow peers but that didn't stop them from talking about him and ogling at him. Krum's attitude greatly reminded Ron of the Boy-Who-Lived.

Dumbledore stood up, effectively silencing everyone. "Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, ghosts and - most particularly – guests." said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

At the Ravenclaw table, one of the Beauxbatons girls still clutching a muffler around her head gave what was unmistakably a derisive laugh. Some of the students frowned at her reaction, taking offense. "The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast; I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" When he was done, food appeared right on top of the tables.

As everyone helped themselves with food, some of the other Durmstrang students decided to talk with the Hogwarts students. "Hi, my name iz Liam Ahlberg,." said one burly-looking Durmstrang slowly to Tracey, thinking he seemed all right to start a conversation.

"Tracey Davis," introduced Tracey with a small smile. "What do you think of Hogwarts so far?"

"Better zan I imagined." he said honestly. "Iz this really gold?" he gestured the goblet.

Not a moment later, both the Slytherins and the Durmstrang students were interacting animatedly, exchanging culture and opinions. Krum said very little to the questions some of the Slytherins who dared to ask and mostly kept to himself. Ron busied himself eating but glanced curiously at the unknown foreign dishes that had been prepared ahead of time.

"Vill you pass the Đuveč?" Krum's low voice drifted to Ron's direction, startling him. His small talk turned heads, and Ron managed to get a glimpse of Draco's shocked expression who thought that Krum wasn't good at English.

Ron jumped slightly, almost choking himself but grabbed his goblet to drink. Sighing in relief, he said, "Er – which one?"

"The one near your leff side."

"Here," he picked up the dish and passed it to him carefully, not wanting to spill the dish onto the famous Seeker. As soon as Krum accepted it, his finger brushed against his and Ron received a vision.

"_Just stay here and watch him," said Harry urgently to Krum as he ran back toward the castle._

_Krum looked very apprehensive, staring the other man he was holding down but said, "Hurry, von't you?" It took Ron awhile to recognise that the dishevelled man with Krum was no other than Barty Crouch, Percy's boss. There was an air of unkemptness and it was far beyond physical appearance. _

_When Harry was out of sight, Krum looked around nervously but didn't take out his wand. Crouch was mumbling incoherently to a piece of rock in front of him._

_Ron felt that something wrong was about to happen and his guts turned out to be true when a figure moved just behind Krum. He tried to look but he couldn't see the face of the wizard. He was holding his wand and said in a thundering voice, "_Stupefy!_" Bright red light shot out from his wand and Krum, who was about to turn around to see who shouted, got hit with it. _

Ron shook himself out and saw Krum staring at him with an odd look on his face. _ Right, this is awkward._ "…sorry," he said, embarrassed. "Uh…A thought entered my mind." He turned away and stuffed his mouth hastily with mashed potatoes, ignoring the looks from the others. While keeping a low-key, he took a fleeting glance and saw Crouch sitting at the high table with Bagman, talking with Dumbledore. He stared at him, wondering why he and Bagman were here but also how he would end up acting like a loony but he knew his question would be answered one day.

After the feast, Dumbledore stood up once more and everyone fell silent to listen what would be announced. "The moment has come," he said, smiling around at the students, both Hogwartians and guests. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring the casket -"

"What casket?" said Goyle dumbly.

"Shh, keep quiet," hissed Pucey whose attention was on Dumbledore.

Dumbledore explained why Crouch and Bagman and that they, including the headmasters of the three magic schools, would be part of the judges for the Triwizard Tournament. When he asked Filch to get the casket, everyone buzzed with excitement. Filch came forward carrying a wooden chest with numerous jewels engraved on it. Some of the younger years gasped in awe at the sight. The caretaker placed the wooden chest in the middle of the high table for everyone to see before retreating back. The headmaster further discussed what would entail in the tournament and everyone, including Ron, seemed to be holding their breaths as they took all of the information.

"…the champions will be chosen by an impartial selector...the Goblet of Fire." He finished with a smile. Taking out his wand, he tapped the wooden chest three times and the chest creaked open, and Dumbledore slowly took out what was inside: an old-looking wooden cup with blue flames inside.

"So that's the impartial judge." mused Ron, staring at the goblet in interest.

"I can see why the judge won't be bias." said Daphne demurely.

"Daphne, I'm trying to listen here." said Tracey lightly.

He carefully placed the goblet on top of the chest for everyone to see. "Anyone who wishes to represent for their school must write their name and school on a piece of parchment and slip it in the goblet." he continued. "Aspiring champions will only have twenty-four hours to put their names. Tomorrow, on Halloween, the goblet will reveal who are worthy enough to represent for each school. The Goblet will be placed at the Entrance Hall tomorrow to be accessible for everyone." He continued informing everyone about the tournament until he was done.

Everyone stood to leave. Ron looked at the Durmstrang students as a thought entered his mind. "Say, where you are going to sleep?" he asked curiously to one student named Poliakoff.

"At our ship." he replied before taking a bit on the chicken leg he was holding.

"Oh. Well, good night." Ron was the first Slytherin to leave the Great Hall, leaving the rest of his Housemates without a single thought about them except for the vision he got recently. But shortly after he got inside the Slytherin dungeons, he saw Theodore just behind him.

"You just got one, didn't you?" he questioned without missing a beat.

Ron nodded once. "It was strange." He told him what he foresaw and waited for other Slytherins' assessment on the matter, however the other Slytherins were pouring in. "Let's talk about this more tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure." he said as he turned away and went up to the dormitory. He quickly undressed himself and wore his pyjamas before the others would come in before opening his trunk to get his journal. By the time he pulled the covers around his bed, he pulled out his wand and muttered some wards. "That will do," he muttered sleepily, opening the journal.

* * *

><p>The following morning was filled with excitement just as much as yesterday. Ron made his way to the entrance hall just in time to see Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff to put his name in the Goblet. It seemed that almost the whole Hufflepuff House were standing nearby, rooting for their fellow House member. "You're going to get it, Ced!"<p>

Ron looked at the seventh year Hufflepuff and felt for sure that he would represent Hogwarts. As he entered the Great Hall, he found Snape had moved in front of him.

"Er…Sir?" he said nervously.

"The headmaster would like to speak to you," said Snape idly but was giving the redhead a hard look. "I do hope that you didn't do anything that asks for his attention, Mr. Weasley." Without waiting for him to reply, he handed him a slip of parchment. "You may give that in case you will find yourself late."

Ron nodded without a word before sitting down by the Slytherin table.

"Did you get in trouble?" asked Astoria curiously who sat two seats away from him.

"No…well, not that I remember anyways…wait, what made you think I got myself in trouble?" he questioned her while piling his plate with pancakes.

Astoria thought for a moment and said simply, "That's what Daphne always tells me about you."

"…Right."

Ron now focused his attention on breakfast, he ate as quickly and many as he could fill his stomach, ignoring some of the scathing remarks some of the Slytherins, particularly Draco and his cronies, were sprouting off. He drank his goblet filled with pumpkin juice in one gulp and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeves.

"In a hurry?" inquired one Durmstrang student who was sitting nearby, finding Ron somewhat intriguing.

"Yeah, have to meet with the headmaster with something." he said offhandedly, earning pointed looks from Theodore and Daphne. He shot them a fleeting glance as if meaning to say "_I'll let you know soon_" and sped off to the quickest path to Dumbledore's office. When he arrived, he remembered not asking Snape the password. "I guess I'll have to guess, huh?" he said to himself with a sigh before ticking off all of the sweets he could think of until he got it right.

The spiralling staircase revealed itself and Ron hopped in, wondering what Dumbledore wanted to talk to him about. Arriving on top, he knocked on the door twice and waited for the headmaster's response.

"Come in." came Dumbledore's voice from inside.

Ron twisted the doorknob and pushed the door. "Good morning sir," he greeted.

"Ah Mr. Weasley, do take a seat." said the older wizard, gesturing toward one of the squishy armchairs in front of the desk. "Lemon drop?" he asked, offering a bowl filled with teardrop-shaped yellowish sweets Ron wasn't familiar with.

"No thank you." he declined politely. "So…you called me?"

"No need to be too polite." said Dumbledore pleasantly. "I would just like to consult with you in relation to your ability, if you don't mind me asking."

Ron blinked in surprise. He knew he should have expected this but he didn't expect it would be this early. "You're asking about the tournament, sir? Or what happened at the Quidditch World Cup?"

"I'm hoping it would be both."

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry I'm late, professor." Ron said hurriedly as he entered the Ancient Runes class. He approach Babbling, the Ancient Runes professor, and gave her the slip that Snape had given earlier.<p>

Babbling glanced at the parchment and nodded. "You may take your seat, Mr. Weasley."

Ron thanked her and took the vacant seat beside Terry Boot. As he took out his notes, someone nudged him on the side and Terry gestured the folded parchment in her hand. Ron raised an eyebrow at him, but he indicated to his right side where Theodore was seated beside Tracey. He took the parchment and opened his Ancient Runes book to cover himself.

He read the message inside: _What happened at Dumbledore's office?_

Ron grabbed his quill and dipped the end with ink. He scribbled hastily under Theodore's narrow handwriting. _Let's talk about this later. People are looking at us._ "Will you pass it to him?" he whispered to Terry.

Terry stared at him as if saying "_Do I look like an owl to you?_" but he took the parchment to pass it onto Theodore. The weedy teen accepted the parchment and quickly read Ron's reply before shooting him a look which Ron ignored. On Theodore's right side, Tracey shot them an inquisitive look, wondering what was going on between them.

The lesson went smoothly and Ron got interested as they began making runes, although it was still basic. Ron tossed his belongings back inside his bag and made it out of the classroom without being badgered by Theodore. He went back to the Great Hall to eat lunch and sat down. But a quiet lunch was not to be.

"So, what happened back there at Dumbledore's office?" Daphne's voice suddenly questioned him, surprising Ron who was in the middle of filling his plate with food.

"Look, can't this wait just a while?" he said hotly, easing his shoulders. "I'm hungry…"

"You're always hungry," she said with an eyeroll. "I've always wondered how much food you need to fill that stomach of yours."

"Not going to answer that," he huffed before biting a piece of drumstick.

Daphne shook her head and Theodore reached them, taking a seat beside Daphne. "No word from him?" he inquired as he pulled a plate.

"He's hungry," she repeated mockingly. "What is it with you males and food?"

"Food's food." said Ron and Theodore together as if it explained everything. Daphne chose not to say a word and ate with them, albeit much less than either of them (although Thedore ate not as much as Ron's). After they ate, they went to their next lesson which was Transfiguration. Daphne took the chance and bugged him about what he and Dumbledore talked about. Irritated but giving in, Ron quickly told them in a low voice when a group of Beauxbaton students passed by. Ron halted and his attention was glued on the blonde tall girl in the front middle.

"Why did you stop…?" Daphne stopped and seeing Ron's glazed expression, she jerked her head to see what he was looking at and frowned. "Oh really now?" she said exasperatedly.

"She's…so…beautiful…" said Ron slowly, his mind blanking out, and for some odd reason he didn't seem to care anymore. All he cared about was taking in all of the Beauxbaton girl's long golden hair, sparkling blue eyes, rosy skin, luscious lips – he could keep going on of all the positive physical qualities of the one he mentally declared as a goddess.

"He's quite vulnerable, isn't he?" mused Theodore, watching Ron's expression in mild amusement.

"And you're not?" said Daphne, giving Theodore a look of annoyance.

"It's affecting me." he said, a bit of strain in his voice. He took a step so that his back was turned to the foreign students. "The moment she removed the muffler around her face last night…I felt – well, her charm is quite strong. I just decided from that moment not to look at her to keep my mind intact, mind you."

She sighed. "At least you're using your head." Taking out her wand, she shot a Stinging Jinx at Ron's arm.

Ron yelped at the spell's contact on him and said angrily. "Hey! Who – why did you hex me, Greengrass?"

"That's Daphne to you, Ronald!" she said with a huff. "I only did what was necessary. I can't believe you would fall for it again."

"What are you talking about…oh." Ron started until he realized what she was talking about. "I didn't expect that she – I…" he said defensively as his face turned red almost immediately. He mentally shook his head and said hastily, "Let's just go to class. McGonagall's going to eat us alive if we're late." He walked away from them as quickly as he could to hide his embarrassment (he didn't see Daphne and Theodore's shared amused looks before following him).

The day went on as normal, with the excitement piling up that everyone inside the castle expected for the chosen champions to be announced later on. When the sun set down, almost everyone was at the Great Hall, anticipating for the moment they had been waiting since yesterday.

"I'm sure you'll be champion, Cassius." said one seventh year Slytherin to Cassius Warrington, one of the Chasers of the Slytherin Quidditch team.

"I doubt it." Ron mumbled.

"Don't let them hear you." said Daphne in a light whisper while passing by. "You're looking for trouble."

"It's fine, I can take care of myself." said Ron offhandedly.

Dinner arrived as soon as the tables were filled with food, similar to the ones last night. Everyone ate in gusto but at the same time, waited almost impatiently for the calling of the champions. Ron couldn't wait for it to start but he knew that it would soon. He expected that the champion would be someone from either Gryffindor or from Hufflepuff, particularly at Cedric Diggory who he thought seemed to be the best candidate to represent Hogwarts.

Finally, it was time. The golden plates were now spotless clean, signalling everyone. Dumbledore stood up and the Great Hall fell silent almost immediately with all of the students putting all of their attention to him. "Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its' decision." said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute."

"Oh come on, we've been waiting for ages," huffed a sixth year Slytherin girl.

"Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next where they will be receiving their first instructions." Waving his wand with one sweep, all of the candles floating excluding those inside the pumpkins were extinguished.

Everyone waited. Some of the students kept glancing back and forth from the Goblet to their watches. It was when the fire in the goblet suddenly changed its colour for blazing red and began shooting out sparks. A tongue of flare shot out in the air which turned out to be a piece of charred parchment that Dumbledore managed to catch it on time.

"Here comes the first one!" one student whispered excitedly to his friend.

Dumbledore took a glimpse from the parchment said loudly, "The champion for Durmstrang is…Viktor Krum!"

Cheers erupted from all students, especially from the Durmstrang students and their headmaster Karkaroff said triumphantly over the noise, "Bravo Viktor! I knew you had it in you!"

Ron clapped hard, grinning at his favourite Seeker's mention.

After another minute, another piece of parchment shot out from the goblet. Dumbledore said to everyone after reading it, "The champion for Beauxbatons is…Fleur Delacour!"

The beautiful blonde girl stood up from her seat as she flipped her hair casually, earned ear-splitting cheers from the boys near her. Both Ron and Theodore tuned out and looked away immediately, not wanting to be entranced by her Veela charms.

"Her name's not that splendid," commented Daphne, disliking the French student.

"Don't like her, Daphne?" smirked Pansy who sat beside her.

"Do you, Pansy?" she inquired back and she knew that Pansy didn't like the Beauxbatons champion since Draco's attention was glued on her.

When the last piece of parchment got out, everyone fell silent. Every Hogwarts students held their breath, waiting for the last call of the champion who would represent Hogwarts. "This is it." said Ron in a barely audible voice.

"The champion chosen for Hogwarts is…Cedric Diggory!"

Almost all of the Hogwarts students cheered and clapped their hands as the Hufflepuff stood up and grinned at everyone in a sheepish way. But no House was louder than Hufflepuff who screamed and shouted in joy as much as they could, stamping their feet, and cheering for their fellow Housemate. It was as if they won a thousand House Cups. "I can't believe Diggory was chosen!" howled Montague.

"I know! He's such a duffer!"

"Well he is Prefect, and the Quidditch captain at their House, and one of the top students of their year -"

"Keeping an eye on him, Oakes?" sneered Warrington at the seventh year Slytherin girl sitting a few seats away from him. But before the other Slytherin could fire back, the whole Great Hall fell silent as the fire from the goblet turned scarlet, shocking all who saw it.

A piece of parchment floated down helplessly in the air after getting out from the goblet, and Dumbledore, his expression looking quite grave and serious, outstretched his hand to catch it. The headmaster's eyes seemed to have flashed if anyone looked closely and cleared his throat.

"Harry Potter."

Everyone's heads slowly turned to the Gryffindor table where Harry sat, his face pale and was staring in huge disbelief at the headmaster.

"What the bloody hell is going on…?" said Ron in shock, looking at Harry.

"Didn't see this coming?" whispered Theodore.

"No, but…" responded Ron as he and the rest of the students watched Harry standing up from his seat and making his way to the door with fear in his eyes. "…I'll have to check my journal just to be sure." He resolved himself to skim through his journal because he had a feeling he would get an answer no matter how little it was.

It was then he realized that this school year would be far more interesting and possibly dangerous and he had to watch out. Him, Theodore and Daphne.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And this is where I stop for a moment. <strong>_

_**This chapter covers half of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang and the Goblet of Fire. The next chapter will cover bits of duelling and running laps regime courtesy by Theodore. Ron will try to make his move on Krum and gets some time to know a bit more about Hermione. Damon will also be making an appearance once again in the next chapter.**_

_**This chapter has been beta-ed by my super duper good online friend (you know who you are!) so give him a round of applause even if I don't have to mention his penname because I'd to keep him shrouded in mystery hohoho.**_

_**Please review! Much appreciated!**_


	31. Chapter 30

The moment Harry went through the door, the students from the Houses began shouting angrily, especially the Hufflepuffs. Ron could hear a couple of profanities directed at the Boy-Who-Lived. Even the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were protesting, claiming that Hogwarts cheating on having two champions. It was only when Dumbledore raised his voice that everyone listened.

"Silence!" he said. His tone wasn't angry or harsh, but rather firm. "I do understand how all of you feeling, however defaming a fellow students will not be tolerated."

"But what about Potter? His name got picked!" hollered one seventh year Hufflepuff angrily, and the students began shouting.

Dumbledore raised his hand and the Great Hall silenced once more. "As much as we want to have another Champion vote, it is no longer possible. Once the Goblet of Fire has chosen a student it deemed as a champion, the student can no longer back out as it holds a magical binding contract. Backing out will have dire consequences. Despite the precautions made for this tournament, the past champions have been known to be seriously injured. Please do understand. Head Boy and Head Girl, fellow Prefects," he said, calling out the students with badges, "please escort the students back to their common rooms."

Maxine, the Beauxbaton Headmistress, turned to her students "Pleeze return to ze carriage, dear students."

Karkaroff, barked at his students, "Go back to the ship. This matter will be discussed, rest reassured."

The students looked as they would protest but they knew it would be futile. They got up from their seats and moved out of the Great Hall, talking angrily with one another. Dumbledore turned to his fellow Professors "Please make sure everyone is settled down."

The professors nodded once and followed suit to their students.

As the Slytherins made their way down to the dungeons, Ron lagged behind until he was last in line but he didn't expect Theodore and Daphne would do the same. "I assume none of us saw this coming, hm?" hummed Daphne, glancing between the two.

"Of course we didn't," said Ron while shaking his head. "Potter got in, and the fact that he's fourteen like us. Anyway, what do you think this means?"

Theodore responded after a moment, "That something is bound to happen, especially to Potter. Do you think it's related to the Dark Lord?" his question caught both Ron and Daphne's attention.

"Probably." nodded the redhead. "Actually, I've noticed that most of the strange things happening here at Hogwarts revolve around Potter…maybe I'm thinking about this too much."

"I don't think you are." frowned Daphne as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "It makes sense, doesn't it? In our first year, him, Longbottom and Granger went through some traps to reach this stone - the Philosopher's Stone - which was why Slytherin lost the House Cup. Then our second year was all about the Chamber of Secrets and him being the Heir of Slytherin which, by the way, we lost the Cup again to Gryffindor by 400 points for no reason at all. And last year, we know what happened."

"I believe the 400 points were due to Potter and Longbottom going to the Chamber of Secrets." mused Theodore.

"Then why wasn't Ron given any points? He went down there too! I think it's absolute bias …" she ranted.

"Thanks, but we're getting a bit off-topic." interrupted Ron. "I'll just check my journal; I think I might get some idea in what's in store for this year."

"Good idea," she relented. "Just let me know when you found anything worthwhile. Goodnight you two." She went in to the Slytherin dungeon and left the two behind without a word.

Both Ron and Theodore entered and saw some students in the common talking about what happened. "I'll kip in early for tonight." said Ron automatically. He already had an idea what his fellow House members were talking about and he didn't want to waste his time listening.

"Don't forget tomorrow." Theo reminded him of the running laps they'd been doing.

Ron went straight to the dormitory. After changing to his pyjamas and lying on his bed, he could already imagine that it would be the same it was in second year. Not very nice.

* * *

><p>The following day seemed okay but Ron couldn't shake off the feeling that it wouldn't last. He was already awake, wearing his Weasley jumper, worn-out sneakers and faded jeans, including a pair of gloves to warm his hands. With him were Theodore and Daphne, wearing different outfits that were more wizarding in design. It was now early November, around quarter to six in the morning and the weather was getting colder but it didn't keep the three Slytherins from what they were supposed to do. Ron would've rather spent his time playing around with his brothers or Ginny, but he knew he had to do this.<p>

As they already got out in the grounds, Ron finally told them what he could find from his journal.

"It's not much but it is rather intriguing." Theodore nodded.

"Yes, it sounds to me that Potter will get through the tasks with little to no trouble." mused Daphne. "Especially with the maze part although I wonder which task that one is."

Ron simply shrugged. "I guess there's not much left to find out for this year. He'll be okay and we'll just have to gather the rest of the information on our own." A cold wind swept them by, causing him to shiver. "It's bloody freezing -"

"There's a Warming Charm we can use." said Theodore shortly as he took out his wand pointed it at Ron's direction. He murmured under his breath and Ron felt his body being enveloped with warmth. "There."

"…thanks." grumbled Ron, noting himself to learn that particular spell.

"I'm surprised you brought your familiar here." remarked Daphne, eyeing on Damon with slight amusement.

Ron thought it would be good to bring along his familiar to spend more time with him, and he read from the books he had new-found interest in that dogs, especially Crups or part-Crups, needed exercise. "He likes to run," he shrugged. "Let's start."

The three of them began doing warm-ups for five minutes before taking a jog around the Black lake. Damon barked away happily as he ran along with them, his tail wagging. As they jogged, Daphne would start a discussion ranging from non-important matters such as boys and outfits to worthwhile ones. "I've sent a letter to my father about what happened last night and I'm sure I'll be getting a reply soon."

"Why would you send a letter to them about the tournament and last night?" blurted out Ron, staring at her.

"Yes, because it's worth informing them." she said matter-of-factly. "Actually, I think it'll be the headline for today in the Daily Prophet - I'm sure anyone who reads it would get a shock…" a look of realisation appeared on her face. "I almost forgot! What do you think Black would think on this?"

"Furious, I suppose." said Theodore without much thought. "I wouldn't be surprised if he comes here demanding Dumbledore and the others to have Potter not participate in the tournament."

"Knowing him, he'd be here already." said Ron. As they were about to make their third lap, Ron blurted out "Wait, d'you think there's a connection between You-Know-Who's future return and Potter becoming champion?"

"I've never thought of that," said Daphne in surprise. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Well, it's what I thought last night. You know, about how nearly all weird things happening around Potter?"

"There is a reason why he's coming back from the dead, although I wonder how he would manage that." said Theodore plainly without looking at them.

Daphne scrutinized Theodore a bit. "Why? Do you not want to die?"

"Maybe not now," he scoffed. "Everything in this world has a beginning, therefore there's supposed to be an end. That's the most basic rule. No, I just thought that it's very interesting that there is a way to defy that."

"It's still Dark magic, innit?" remarked Ron with a frown. "Like you said, it's the most basic rule here in this world. No one can escape death."

"Except You-Know-Who." reminded Daphne.

"He's not technically dead," countered the redhead. "He's barely dead."

"Excuse me? 'Barely dead?' What does that mean?" she questioned him as she stopped and put her hands on her waist.

Ron distinctively remembered what the tall, annoying and weird man called Fate said before he woke up. He said heatedly, "It's what I mean. No one can escape death. You-Know-Who just found out a way to – to keep himself from…completely dying."

Daphne looked as if she knew there was more to what Ron was saying but Theodore interrupted her. "That's another way to put it. We still have four more laps to run. If you don't move, I'll increase it by two. Come on."

By the time they were done, they went back inside the castle where they saw two tall figures marching their way. "Well Ronald, you were spot-on about that one." said Daphne as she and the other two recognised the two wizards as Black and Lupin.

"That is a huge understatement," responded Ron with a grimace. "Come on Damon, let's get you back inside Hagrid's Hut -"

"DUMBLEDORE, I WANT A WORD WITH YOU NOW!" Black's angry voice echoed loudly across the Entrance hall.

"He knows how to get everyone's attention." commented Theodore. "I'll go back to the common room."

"I'm coming with you," said Daphne before taking her eyes off from the scene. "I don't want to smell horrible."

As they went down to the dungeons, Ron set off to Hagrid's Hut with Damon on his side. He got some curious looks on the way, particularly at Damon, but he ignored them. Glancing down, he noticed how much his part-Crup grew from the first time he had him; only five months and Damon was just slightly below his knee but he should've expected this since Crups and part-Crups were known to grow somehow larger than normal dogs.

Ron knocked on the wooden door and waited. The door swung open and Hagrid stood in front of him. "Hullo Ron," he greeted. "How's yer morning with the lil' pup?"

"Better than before, he's growing up fast. In you go, Damon." He gestured his pet inside the hut and Damon complied, jumping at Ron first to try and lick his face before going inside. "I have to go back. I'll come back later."

"Sure, when yeh have time," said Hagrid airily.

He thanked him as he always did and went back to the Slytherin dungeons to change his clothes. He took a quick shower, wore his school robes and went to the Great Hall to have breakfast while carrying his bag. He could still hear faint irritable whispers about what happened last night and glancing around, he saw a couple of students shooting glares at Harry who was sitting at the Gryffindor table with a glum expression on his face.

Ron couldn't help but sympathize with him; considering that his name came out of the Goblet and he had to compete in the tournament (assuming Dumbledore and the others weren't able to find a loophole with the magical binding contract), and now he had to face the resentment and ridicule from the rest of the student body, especially from the Hufflepuffs.

"Well, I guess he's always had it a little tough." he mused as he sat down by the Slytherin table. He ate as much and fast as he could before setting off to Charms, which was the first subject every Tuesdays. He could still hear talks and whispers about the tournament but he tuned them out, he knew no one would know what would happen soon. Arriving inside, he already saw some students sitting inside, including Draco and his cronies. He couldn't help but sneer at their direction.

Draco caught sight of him and sneered. "What are you looking at, Weasley?"

"Don't flatter yourself, ferret face." said Ron hatefully. "You're an eyesore if you ask the others here."

"You think you're smart talking like that to me? You and your poor excuse of a family are nothing." snarled Draco. "You ought to know better and treat wizarding families such as mine with respect." His words caught the attention of the others and they were watching cautiously between the two.

"You want to do this again? You're a real broken record. You shouldn't be surprised when one day you'll be stuck in the mud and no one's going to help you. Don't even try hexing me, you can't do that here. Good morning Professor Flitwick," his demeanour changed when he noticed the small Charms professor entering the classroom.

"Good morning to you too, Mr. Weasley." Squeaked out Flitwick.

Draco threw a glare at the redhead to which Ron ignored it. Class went on as normal as it could (with the exception of an occasional glare match between Ron and Draco when Flitwick's back was facing them) and by the end of it, they received a homework of writing a comparison-contrast of Summoning Charms and Hover Chams in one roll of parchment.

Ron slung his bag and stood up to leave. Without saying a word to anyone, not even to Theodore or Daphne, he left the classroom and took a right path which was rarely used by most students. He kept pacing forward until he took a left turn which was empty. He stopped and unsheathed his wand quickly as he turned around, shouting "_Expelliarmus!_" A flash of red light shot out from his wand and not a second later, a clatter echoed faintly few feet away.

It turned that that he disarmed Goyle, whose wand was on the floor. Draco and Crabbe were standing right beside him and he was able to see Draco's momentarily stunned look. "Fancy seeing you there here." said Ron coolly at them.

"Do you really think that you're going to get away from everything you've been doing for the past year?" glared Draco, his hands in his pockets which Ron was very sure the blonde was holding his wand. "You're only lucky that Nott and Greengrass are there defending your pathetic self!"

Ron was surprised to hear him but quickly hid it. "You don't know what you're saying, git. Those two aren't defending me –"

"Don't deny it. I've seen you three together more than once. And it's a disgusting sight. I don't know what length you had to go just to make them hang out with you but I suggest you stop it because they're not going to be your friends!"

"Who says about us three being friends? That's a load of garbage." snorted Ron. "And besides, it's none of your business what the three of us are doing."

"We'll see about that – _Stupefy!_"

Ron evaded the spell and retaliated, "_Impedimenta! Stupefy!_" Two spells went straight at Crabbe and Goyle who had enough brains to duck while Crabbe accidentally dropped his wand out of reflex.

"Idiots!" grounded Draco at his two lackeys who were now backing away from the wand-fight before hurling another hex at Ron's direction. "You think you are better than I am, Weasley? You're going to pay right now!"

"Yeah, like I've never heard that before!" mocked Ron. "_Incarnaceous!_" thick ropes sprang out like snakes, directing at Draco. He anticipated for the blonde Slytherin to backtrack but Draco jabbed his wand at the incoming ropes and said, "_Reducto!_" which turned the ropes into dust. Ron narrowed his eyes but an idea came across his mind almost immediately and he pointed at the suit of armour a few feet behind Draco's back and said, "_Accio helm!_"

Draco turned his head behind and spotted the helm zooming right at his direction and had no choice but to move away to avoid getting hit. Ron took his chance and said with relish, "_Petrificus Totalus!_" His spell his right on Draco's right side and it made him instantly snap up straight and stiff as a board which concluded Ron as the victor. "You'd think you'd learn by now Malfoy." Stepping over him, he picked up his bag from the floor before shooting a hard look toward Crabbe and Goyle's direction. "You want to fight me? I don't mind."

Both boys didn't say a word and wordlessly went to Draco and tried to undo the spell Ron cast.

Before Ron could leave, a rough voice spoke not far from him. "Nice wandwork you have there, Weasley." Limping his way was no other than Mad-Eye Moody and Ron didn't even realise he was there.

"Sir! You saw-? It wasn't me who did it first!" said Ron hastily, his thoughts of earning detention came to mind, followed by Snape's scowling expression of having heard of him earning one before assigning him with a whole week of detention as punishment.

"No need to worry, I heard everything." said Moody gruffly. "Malfoy and the other two will be having detention with me. Three against one, a cowardly act…ha, they should've known better eh?"

He couldn't help but sigh in relief. "Thank you, sir."

"Walk with me, boy." As they made their way down, Moody said, "Have you ever considered yourself to become an Auror after you finish Hogwarts?"

The redhead Slytherin blinked in surprise. "Er what? Auror?" He thought about it and it sounded cool to become one. "Well…maybe, but I don't think I'm cut out for it. I don't know what I want to be when I finished my studies." He said honestly.

Moody's magical eye whizzed around before it landed on Ron who felt he was being scrutinized. "You have a lot of potential, Weasley. I can tell." As they reached the second floor, Moody stopped and so Ron did. "Consider my suggestion. Now, be on your way to your next class. Remember, _constant vigilance!_"

Ron watched him leave before walking his way to Ancient Runes. "Hm, an Auror…" he mused.

* * *

><p>Few days afterwards, the mood inside the castle and the grounds had barely changed. The students still found the situation with Harry being the fourth champion rather insulting with the Hufflepuffs taking it hard by heart. As for the Slytherins, Draco and his cronies got something out of it as a way to infuriate Harry and his friends. Ron just got inside the common room one evening after being out the grounds to see Damon when he saw a small gathering with Draco visible in the centre, standing on top of the table.<p>

"What's going on?" he frowned. He knew anything that Draco would come up was anything but positive.

Astoria, who was about to return to her dormitory, overheard Ron and stopped. "He…it's actually not worth it." she said hesitantly. She pulled out a small object from her robes and handed it over to Ron quickly. "I'll be off to bed."

Ron glanced at her retreating back curiously and looked down at his hand. He didn't wait for an answer from anyone else any longer and went up to the dormitory by himself. Once he was inside, he took a closer look. It was a pin with the words popping out. _Support Cedric Diggory! The real Hogwarts Champion!_

"That's…rather supportive for Malfoy." he said mutely, raising his eyebrows at the words. But knowing Draco, there was supposed to be a catch in the pin. Guessing, he checked the pin and figuring it out, pressed the top. The words dissolved immediately and were replaced with huge capitalised words. _Potter Stinks!_

"Should've known." he snorted as he threw the pin in the bin. Since that day, a huge number of students (including very few Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students who thought it was amusing) were wearing the pins. Ron vaguely wondered how the pins were distributed to the other Houses.

Soon after Muggle Studies class, Ron hurriedly packed his things back inside his bag and ran off, leaving a surprised and annoyed Daphne behind. "Ronald!" she protested. "Where are you going?"

"Have to go now -" he said without looking back, quickening his pace more. He knew he was being completely mental but he couldn't help it. It was the only way to see that person. When he reached his destination, he quickly walked through the shelves and grabbed a random book, before taking a seat nearby the entrance. Opening the book he got, he hunched slightly but his attention was on the entrance as if expecting someone. He was nearly engrossed that he didn't seem to realise someone was calling him.

"Hello? Ron?"

A hand tapped his shoulder and Ron straightened up to look up. "Wha? Oh, Mione?" he croaked.

"It's Hermione, not Mione." corrected the bushy-haired Gryffindor. "I was wondering I can take a seat with you."

"Oh yeah it's fine." he said while nodding. _Actually, it's better this way._ It was becoming a normal occurrence that Ron and Hermione would sit together in the library to read and share some notes (although Hermione wasn't keen on giving out everything) and chat for a bit. They got some unusual looks for the first few days but soon the students who frequently visit the library were used to this presence.

"So…" he began, trying to find a new topic to talk about while keeping an eye out for someone or something.

She looked at him and shrewd expression appeared fleetingly on her face. "You're going to ask about Harry, aren't you?"

"What No!" his reaction caused hisses from the nearby students and he blushed from embarrassment. "I mean," he lowered his voice and continued, "I was about to ask you about your homework in Ancient Runes whether you've finished it and what book your used but alright, let's talk about Potter."

"Honestly Ron -" she huffed.

"Hey you're the one who brought it up." he reminded her. "Anyway, I'm not going to say he cheated his way to become a champion. Nope, it's obvious that he didn't want to be part of the tournament. I'm not blind." He regarded her expression for a bit and added, "He's been getting roughed up like in second year, huh? I'm right, aren't I?"

"There's nothing much to deny about that part," she sighed. "It's just ridiculous to think that the others would think that way."

"I guess, but it's not like they know him personally as much as you and Longbottom do." He shrugged as he skimmed over the pages of the book he took.

Hermione gave him a look that he couldn't figure out and said, "You and Harry could've been friends."

Ron stopped and stared at her. Her words shocked him to say the least. "What made you think of that?" he whispered.

"Well…" she hesitated, her expression showing deep thought, and continued. "Harry told me that you got along so easily at the train before we got…sorted."

He remembered that time and it was one of the very few things he liked in his Hogwarts years (even if he wasn't sorted yet) and in all honestly, it seemed like a dream. Pulling back his thoughts, "That's…in the past now. I'm a Slytherin and you and him are in Gryffindor." He slowly responded, feeling rather unhappy.

"I think no one should let their House dictate who you can be friends' with." she said firmly.

Ron actually felt some amusement from that. "Oh really? Are you willing to get matey with Malfoy? How about Parkinson?" he asked while raising an eyebrow. "I can really imagine it now – you and her having a wonderful chat over tea and biscuits, while she talks about boys, make-up, gossip, and more boys…"

Hermione shot a light glare at him but cracked a smile at least for his humour, and Ron couldn't help but stare at her. Noticing his change of expression, she asked worriedly, "Is there something on my face?"

"No…it's just that…there's something different I've noticed just now," he said slowly as he tried to figure it out. Then it clicked. "Your teeth."

Hermione had a look of surprise at his deduction and rewarded him a full smile, showing her now-straight teeth. "What do you think?" she asked. "Harry and Neville didn't really notice it and I'm surprised you did."

"You look – well, different!" he couldn't say anything else. He wasn't very good at telling people what he thought about their appearance positively, unless he wasn't thinking straight. "All right, actually you look nice now. I mean, you weren't bad or anything before but…uh…"

"I get what you're trying to say," she stopped him but she was smiling slightly. "Thanks."

A thought entered Ron's mind "So, why did you decide just now to…you know, do that? You could've done that years ago -"

Hermione grimaced as she heard his question. "I didn't do this because I wanted to out of the blue. It's just that…" sighing deeply, "Malfoy and Harry got in a fight few days ago – you do remember that, right? Back in Snape's classroom?"

Ron nodded. It was one of those days that Ron wished he could join in and hex Draco once again to keep him in place. The Malfoy heir couldn't help but taunt at Harry and the others, showing the pins they made for the tournament. Both of them threw hexes which, unfortunately, got hit with different students who were Hermione and Goyle (Ron didn't mind much about this one). "Shame the git didn't get detention."

She pursed her lips and continued, "So, you know what happened next – I went to the Hospital Wing and got the size of my front teeth reduced until…well…there you have it." she finished. "But honestly speaking, I did consider straightening them but my parents wouldn't let me -"

"Why not?" he frowned, thinking there wasn't anything wrong in straightening teeth with magic.

"They're dentists." she answered but seeing Ron's confused look, she explained further. "They're like Healers but they focus on teeth."

"Really? Tooth Healers?" said Ron in awe.

"There's nothing wrong about being a dentist, it's a good profession in the Muggle world!" something caught her eye and her demeanour changed. "Oh he's here again. Why can't he just take a book and go back to his ship?"

Ron straightened up and turned around and there, standing a few feet away, was none other than Viktor Krum being trailed after with a number of girls of different ages (he could even see two or three boys included). He knew that he had seen him a couple of times in person, regardless how far he was (he even managed to converse with him on the night of their arrival), but he couldn't help but feel star-struck. He glanced at Hermione and knew all too well the reason why he had been visiting the library and it wasn't because of the books. Shaking his head, he put his attention to her and said lightly, "What? You've seen him coming here more than once -"

"Yes and he's been nothing more than a bother." she huffed, pulling her attention back to the book she was reading with a frown on her face. "He's only popular because he managed to pull off the Wonky-Faint trick -"

"Wronski Feint," corrected Ron automatically. "I'm sure he's a good bloke."

"You're only saying that because you admire him." she pointed out without looking up.

"Even if I'm a fan or not, there's nothing wrong with getting to know with someone like him. You might never know, he might be like Potter who doesn't like the attention he's getting." he suggested airily. He took a sneaky glance and saw the famous Seeker standing on their right side, shifting through the books in the shelves. He smirked. "Come on, it couldn't hurt could it?"

"I suppose, but I don't think he'd approach someone like me." She sighed as she shut the book. "He's – he's too different." With that, she stood up.

"Where're you going?" he asked curiously.

"Back in the common room," she said shortly. "I can't concentrate with him being here and the others giggling loudly. Until next time, Ron." Shaking her head, she packed her things and left.

"Bye." said Ron softly as he watched her go until she was out of sight. He breathed out for a bit, knowing that his day in the library was over. He grabbed the book from the table and put it back to where he got it. He turned and almost got himself bumped into the person standing in front of him. "Huh?"

"Sorry." said a deep and all-too familiar voice that Ron stopped.

Ron stared at him. Viktor Krum stood in front of him with his shoulders hunched as he always did and a grunt expression planted on his face. Krum could tell what was going through Ron's mind. "Your name's Ron Weesley," he began in his low voice.

"Y-yes!" Ron snapped him and focused his attention on him. "Do you need something?" _Or rather someone._ He thought idly as Hermione's face appeared fleetingly in his mind.

Krum didn't respond immediately, thinking deeply of what he should say. "Nothin'. Good day." He said finally and nodded once, before taking his leave.

_He wasn't sure to tell me,_ said Ron mentally but he was pleased that he got to talk to the famous Quidditch player once more. He knew it was impossible for him and someone like Viktor Krum to be friends (he could snort at the thought) with, but he didn't mind getting the chance to talk to him and hopefully ask for some tricks and tips in playing international Quidditch.

* * *

><p>A few days later, Ron got himself a new vision and surprisingly enough, he got it from Luna. He finally caught up with her and Ginny one weekend after his tiresome training with Theodore and Daphne. "You're always worn out every Saturdays." said the quirky Ravenclaw bluntly before Ron could even say anything.<p>

"Yeah? Where did you get that?" questioned Ron evasively as he sat down beside her. They were at the Quidditch stands, an unusual spot to spend time however due to the cold weather, meeting at the grounds was no option.

"It just is." she said simply.

Ginny glanced at them both and said, "So, the First task will be in a week. What do you think will happen?"

"It's bound to be exciting, no doubt about that. What do you think the first task would be?"

"Anything we could imagine," said Luna as she looked up into the sky. "I just hope it doesn't involve endangered species." Both Ginny and Ron knew how much Luna was interested in all kinds of magical creatures, regardless of how dangerous they were to humans with or without magic.

"It'll be hard to have a tournament without them, I think." said Ron thoughtfully. "Well, let's just hope for the best, alright?" Seconds later, snowflakes were now falling from the sky. "Let's go back." He held out his hand to Luna who sat closest to him and said, "Come on. You might slip."

"You're kind." said Luna dreamily, accepting his hand.

Ron blinked in surprise as his surroundings changed, alerting him of his ability being triggered.

"_You ought to tell us what you know about Potter's whereabouts!" snarled one wizard, gripping the front robes of a barely of-age witch who turned out to be Luna due to her butterbeer caps necklace and unmistakeable misty eyes that were now full of determination and will._

"_You're surrounded by Wrackspurts – I don't think you'll understand me no matter how much I tell you the tru -" she said with an air of her usual dream-like quality but with more resolve._

"_Shut up with your delusional creatures, you filthy loony!" the man threw her down on the floor and Ron let out a snarl, wanting to hurt the man so bad. "You should know that your dear father's life's at stake here so better use your brain like a Ravenclaw should!" Then he raised his wand and shouted, "Crucio!"_

His vision began to fade away but he was able to hear the faint sound of Luna's voice screaming in pain. He felt repulsed and found himself being stared unblinkingly by her present self. "You're pale." she pointed out.

"I – I'm fine," he said shortly as he tried to remove the image from his mind. "I got distracted, sorry."

"By what?" asked Ginny curiously. "I think a hot mug of chocolate will help us! I've just found where the Kitchens are – of course, courtesy of Fred and George."

"That sounds lovely," smiled Luna in her own manner. "Let's go back inside."

Ron wasn't able to say a word back but jerked his head in acknowledgment. As they walked back inside the castle, he wished that nothing bad would ever happen to the ones he cared and that included Luna who was his first friend.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And this is where I end this chapter. <strong>_

_**It's longer than usual as you can tell by the length. It covers the Fourth Champion and the Weighing of the Wands. I didn't include much of the scenes from the books because Ron doesn't have to be where the trio are. **_

_**And I would like to admit that this is no longer an R/Hr story because I want Ron to have more flexibility in terms of growing up and experiencing all sorts of relationships. It could be that he may end up still with Hermione but there are other chances that he could be with someone else. Anyway, romance isn't exactly a main point of this story I'd like to repeat myself. I do acknowledge that having some bit of relationships is part of growing up so I will give Ron that. I do hope you guys understand that (I am still a R/Hr fan but I am pretty accepting of other pairings).**_

_**The next chapter, I hope, should be just as interesting because we know what's going to happen next after the First Task! Ahahaha I'm excited too, yes.**_

_**Reviews please! I would like to say thank you for the support and interest of reading this! **_


	32. Chapter 31

_**Okay, I think I do need to clarify a couple of more, my fellow readers. Firstly, just because there's a 50/50 chance that R/Hr may happen doesn't mean that Hermione will no longer be an integral part of this story. She's still important and…right, I can't spoil you anymore plots so I'll let your minds do the imagining. **_

_**Secondly, I'm not going to make Ron go on sudden dates with random girls because he has more things to worry about rather than dating, really (his family and friends, and Voldemort). **_

_**And lastly, to ease your minds, I haven't changed much of the plot of this story. The only uncertainty is "who will Ron-bloody-Weasley will end up with?" in the epilogue and the chapter before it. I would like to reiterate that romance isn't the main focus of this story, just a part of it (I guess 1/8 in total). I may or may not mention who he will end up, really but I have yet to reach that decision.**_

_**I hope I didn't offend anyone who reads this and I do perfectly understand if you wish to stop reading. But to those who will stop reading, I would like to say thank you for taking your time reading this story and expressing your views. I truly appreciate it. If you found any good R/Hr stories, please PM me!**_

* * *

><p>Like the rest of the students, Ron was waiting for the twenty-fourth of November to come soon. There were a lot of rumours regarding the First task, ranging from relatively possible to the utterly outrageous. Ron noted the expressions some of the champions were wearing and it seemed as if they were already ready for what they were up against, except for Harry.<p>

Ron wondered what he was having trouble with but as far as he knew about the tournament, cheating was not allowed.

"That particular rule won't stop them from doing it, really." said Daphne while flicking her perfectly maintained hair.

"You're right, I guess." Ron admitted. Seeing Daphne's hand gesturing toward him, he sighed. He took her hand and silently counted until two minutes were up.

"Still nothing?" pouted Daphne, disliking the lack of progress they were making.

"Nope -" Ron stopped as he saw the other students gathering inside the Muggle Studies classroom. He quickly let go of her hand and sat up straight, pretending to ignore Daphne. Class went on as usual with Burbage giving them partner work about Muggle transportation growth throughout the ages. He and Daphne (she insisted they be partners) were given an assignment to research bicycles.

"Ronald, you're going to run off again!" said Daphne with a frown.

"Well…I'm busy you see…" said Ron easily.

"- spending time with Granger, is that it?" cut across Daphne while raising an eyebrow. "Don't look so surprised. People tend to talk about unusual things they see."

"And what? You're going to stop me or something?" challenged the redhead. He remembered what happened with Luna the last year.

She let out a small sigh. "Even if I did try to stop you, you wouldn't listen. I just hope you're actually using your head because one thing or another, you're going to get yourself in trouble."

"What kind of trouble? Just for talking to a Gryffindor?"

"…you'll just have to figure it out yourself." She carried her bag and didn't say another word as she walked out of the classroom.

Ron frowned, her words echoing inside his mind, but he shook it off. He also had another reason why he was avoiding her and Theodore as much as possible (except the laps and the duelling lessons): Draco's words had gotten to him; he didn't want others to start noticing their "Silver Triad" and he couldn't let either of them have any idea what he was thinking.

When he arrived at the library, he walked around until he saw Hermione sitting with a thick book. Without a word, he made his way over and sat down, catching her attention.

"How's reading?" grinned Ron.

"Fine," she replied. "How's Muggle Studies faring you?"

"It keeps me interested. I guess that's more than most other classes." He answered. "Speaking of which, do you have a book about bicycles?"

"Do you need it for your homework?"

"Pair project actually, do you have one?"

She set down the book she was reading and gave him a look. "Are you going to take care of it? No spills, torn pages and even scribbles?" she said testily.

Ron raised his hand and said solemnly, "I'll take care of it with my life depended on it."

She agreed to ask for her parents to send over a book and promised to lend it to him once she received. They talked about other things and, as expected, Viktor Krum arrived with his usual fans following him. Ron could see her annoyed expression, taking in the details of the way her eyebrows knitted, her eye expression and the way she pursed her lips.

Ron snapped out of it and said automatically, "So you're going back inside your common room?"

"Yes," she said grimly. "It gets noisy whenever he's here."

When she left, Ron amused himself with a book that was left on the table until he grew bored. He knew it would be a waste of time staying there any longer since he saw Viktor leaving as well (he couldn't help but find it funny, thinking that for a famous Quidditch player he didn't have any guts to approach Hermione). Before he could leave, he saw Luna walking over to him.

"Hello Ron," she greeted dreamily. "You've been coming over to the library a lot more than usual."

"You…are the second person who said that. How often do you go to the library?"

"Not as often as you do." she replied with a vague smile.

He didn't know what to say. "Well….uh…I have my reasons." He said as he scratched the back of his head. "You want to go to the kitchen? It's dinner soon anyway."

Luna seemed to like the idea. "I hope they have pudding."

They went to the kitchens and was served with food that they wanted, with Ron taking a bit of everything he was given and Luna asking for a plate of pudding. He found the house-elves quite likeable with their service and found some of them amusing, especially one house-elf named Dobby and another one drinking bottles of butterbeer named Winky. They never asked about them as they have no idea (although Luna seemed quite sad for the drunken house-elf) and stayed there until they were full.

"I just hope she gets better." said Luna softly as she and Ron stepped down from the Kitchens.

"I'm sure she will be."

* * *

><p>As the First Task approached, everyone was excited. The Hufflepuffs were now showing their full support to Cedric Diggory, wishing him good luck, Viktor Krum with his fellow Durmstrang representatives (and other students who happened to be his fans), and Fleur Delacour with the Beauxbatons, including her mesmerized admirers. Harry, on the other hand, only had the support of his best mates Neville and Hermione, the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team, and some other Gryffindor students.<p>

On the night before the Task day, Ron walked around the grounds with Damon.

"What do you think?" he asked to his dog. "What you think is going to happen this year?"

Damon barked enthusiastically, wagging his tail.

"Yeah, it's hard to imagine having a normal year here." he nodded absentmindedly. "I just hope I can get some more information…it's hard not knowing what you're going to face against, right? With You-Know-Who lurking in the corner with Pettigrew, and among other things." he added while thinking about Draco Malfoy and his cronies with what happened few days ago. "Do you think I should just hope for the best?" In response, Damon jumped up and down, and turned around as if trying to chase his tail. The corners of Ron's lips twitched upward at the sight. "Right, let's play catch."

He picked up a nearby stick, almost the same length as his wand, "I'm going to throw this and you're going to get it back for me, is that Okay? Good." He raised his hand as he held the stick and threw it as hard as he could.

The stick flew up in the air, going over a couple of feet away from his standpoint until it landed close to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Damon ran with his strong legs to where the stick was now and let out a bark before picking it up. But he stopped as he turned to another direction, dropping it.

Ron grew concerned and followed him without a thought. "Damon! Oi!" he called out loudly but his pet wouldn't listen. He followed where his dog went to and suddenly heard a faint roar nearby to his left. His eyes widened and he ran faster, worried that his dog might hurt because of the creature he just heard. As he got out of the woods, he found himself in a different place with numerous wizards and witches running about.

"Get ready on three – two – one – _Stupefy!_" commanded a rough yet loud voice from the other side.

A deafening roar echoed throughout the whole area which some of the wizards didn't seem concerned about it. Ron got distracted by it and went to search for the source until a hand grabbed the back of his robes, stopping him. "How did you get here?" questioned a middle-aged wizard, with a long faint scar etched across his face, making him look menacing.

"I – I – my dog, he went here -" began Ron.

"A likely story," he snorted. "We'll have to make you forget this -"

"What's taking you so long, Lucas – Ron?" a familiar voice drifted a few feet away from him.

Ron turned and stared in shock. "Charlie? What are you doing here?"

"Me? I should be the one asking you," Charlie frowned as he approached them. "You can let him go – he's my brother -"

"So you invited him over? You know the rules -" the wizard named Lucas said warningly.

"I didn't." cut across Charlie before facing Ron. "How did know about this?"

"I didn't know you were here! Damon ran off and I followed, but I heard something roar so I got worried Damon might get in trouble -" explained Ron as he tried to convince his older brother.

"Say, who brought a part-Crup here?" hollered one witch while she walked through the grounds, gesturing Damon beside her who was now tied in a leash around his neck. "Mind you, he almost became dinner for Alih."

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Right. Oi Gizelle! That dog's mine! Hand it over!"

"I don't remember you bringing a dog over, lest have one -" commented the witch until she stopped and saw Ron. "Isn't he one of your little brothers who visited few years ago? Why's he here?"

"It's an accident, his dog ran over here. Well Ron, you'd better keep a closer eye on Damon." Taking out his wand, he procured a leash in mid-air and handed it over to him. "Anyway, I'm sure you want to have a look around -" raising a hand before any of his colleagues could speak, "- but you have to swear that you won't say a word, alright?"

Ron nodded quickly, thoroughly surprised to receive this kind of treatment.

"So why are you here?" he asked right after tying Damon around the neck carefully so he wouldn't get away from him.

"The Triwizard Tournament, of course." chuckled the second Weasley brother. "It's for the First Task that they'll be facing tomorrow -"

"I think it's best if he sees it for himself, Charlie." said Gizelle, grinning at Ron.

"What -?" he stopped until he heard an enormous and grounding roar to his left. "Oh wait, don't tell me -"

Charlie barked out a laugh. "Took you awhile. We'll walk a bit more and you'll get to see one of the rarest -"

"- not to mention, one of the most vicious breeds that ever lived in this world." muttered Lucas behind Ron.

"And there she is. Her name's Prisca. She's a Hungarian Horntail – quite fierce and hard to handle, we had to have around twenty of us to keep her at bay, mind you – but equally beautiful, strong and intelligent. Wonderful, isn't she?" grinned his brother, gazing up at the one of the most terrifying yet fascinating creatures Ron had ever laid his eyes on in his entire life. The dragon was black, over fifty feet in height and had numerous lethal spikes one some parts of her body, especially her tail.

"Bloody hell," swore Ron, his eyes as wide as Galleons. His gaze fell and saw a half-dozen of dragon eggs placed right under the majestic dragon protectively. He glanced around the other nearby dragons and saw that they also had dragon eggs with them. "Why are all of them female?"

"We have no idea," frowned Gizelle. "But I suppose it's part of the tournament."

"Obviously they're not going to fight them," snorted Lucas as he folded his arms. "I doubt they can ever beat one. It's a fair chance they only have to pass through them."

"For what?" asked Ron, his mind beginning to wander.

"For an object, that's my safest bet." answered Charlie. "But whatever they are planning, I just hope none of the eggs will be harmed. Each one's worth more than all of the Galleons in Europe combined."

"I doubt the Ministry cares," grounded Lucas. "I'll be off now. I have to check the Chinese Fireball -" he turned around and stalked off, leaving the group.

"He's hard to get along with for the first couple of times, but he's a fair bloke." said Charlie to Ron. "You didn't see him when you and the others came because he was at the Middle East overseeing some Sand dragons." Glancing at Ron, he asked, "So how are doing lately? Been doing well?"

"I am," he answered. "But it gets crazy with the rumours -"

"Yeah, I heard about Potter being the fourth champion." modded Charlie. "But I think he'll fare it well. I heard he's a really good Quidditch player."

Other than dragons, Quidditch was Charlie's second favourite thing. Ron couldn't help but snort at his older brother's judgement on people. "Great observation skills you have there." They chatted for a bit with Charlie mainly doing the questioning until it was already late. "When will you and the others leave?"

"Tomorrow right after the First Task if we're quick enough to pack everything," mused Charlie as he and Ron walked out of the clearing. "Now go back inside the castle and don't say a word."

"I know that!" Ron turned around and ran off with Damon by his side. _It's definitely going to be interesting tomorrow,_ he thought to himself. "I can even use this for some bets." he added with a smirk.

* * *

><p>The following day, the whole castle was abuzz, ready for the First Task. Most of the students woke up early and had their breakfast just so they could get good seats. Ron was among of the early risers, although he'd prefer to have slept in a bit more, but he had more pressing matters to deal with: betting. He was already on the look-out on some students who were willing to bet a couple of Galleons and he was sure a good number were thinking the same way as he did. When he arrived at the stands, he had a stroke of luck.<p>

"…Potter's not going to last long in this one," said one snarky student Ron recognized as Zacharias Smith, one of the Chasers of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

Ron intentionally passed the group by and let out a loud drawl, "I don't think so. I'm sure Potter's going to outdo himself. He's Potter after all."

"What makes you think that he'll survive? And you're a Slytherin!" shot back the Hufflepuff.

"It's doesn't matter if I'm a Slytherin, question is you willing to stick to your word? Why don't we bet on it? If you win, I'll give you fifteen Galleons."

"Don't kid me, you're a Weasley. You barely have any money to buy any new robes." barked out the student while laughing.

_You're going to regret saying that. _"Oh you're right. Well, why don't I bet to do your homework for a whole month if you win? But, if I win, you'll have to give me fifteen Galleons. Well? Afraid, are you?"

The student glanced at him and to his friends. "You got yourself a deal."

"Great." _I can't wait to get my winnings._

He walked on and managed to garner a couple of bets until it was time for the First Task to begin. He finally found a good spot to sit and looked around, anticipating for what was to come. "Been gathering some bets?" commented Theodore as he and Daphne arrived and took a seat beside Ron.

Ron flinched slightly at the sight of them because he didn't want others to see them together more than they should be. "Why are you here?" he blurted out.

"Is there something wrong about us sitting with you?" said Daphne, raising an eyebrow at him. "If you haven't noticed, these seats are the closest to where Draco and rest are sitting," she added, gesturing toward the rest of their year who were seating two seats above them.

He opened his mouth but closed it. "Never mind. Just don't sit too close." He didn't notice the two sharing a look at his lack of response and chose to sit down.

They saw Bagman walk on the ground and pointing his wand to his neck. The audience began to cheer wildly, shouting for their champions. "Good day everyone! Welcome to the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament!" The cheers grew louder and Bagman paused for a moment until it subsided for a bit. "I'm sure you're all excited to know what the first task our champions will be facing so I'm not going to spoil you any further!"

"Wouldn't the Champions hear what he's going to say?" said Daphne, leaning back slightly to her seat to make herself more comfortable.

"I'm sure they used a Silencing Charm where the champions are currently staying." said Theodore shortly.

Ron strained his ears to ignore the two. "- task that our champions will do is to get their first clue! But it won't be easy because the ones that will be guarding them are -" a loud rumbling roar echoed throughout the whole area which scared some of the students, "- Dragons!"

"What? Dragons?" blurted one a student who was sitting three seats below Ron.

"But that's dangerous!" cried another student.

"That's the point of the whole tournament, isn't it?" said the other sitting beside the student who cried out.

"- each champion will face a different dragon and they will have to get their first clue before the time runs out!" continued Bagman with glee, gesturing a bluish-grey dragon called the Swedish Short-Snout that was entering inside the area, her neck chained to secure her and the eggs placed in the middle with one of them coloured in gold. "And now! Our first champion! Cedric Diggory!"

At the mention of the Hufflepuff's name, the whole House of Badgers stood up and cheered as loudly as they could. Ron could see him jogging his way to the area, his wand alight in his right hand.

"The First Task starts NOW!" bellowed Bagman signalling everyone.

He and the rest of the audience watching from the stands were in awe; the moment Cedric entered he pointed at the nearest boulder and transfigured it into a black dog which looked like a Labrador (or Black's animagus form, thought Ron) and made it go the other direction to act as a diversion. The students from different schools and Houses were now screaming excitedly and in shock when Cedric almost got the first clue but the dragon caught him and burst hot blue flames at his direction, causing the Hufflepuff champion to duck and retreat.

"He almost dodged it but he somehow got burned to his right shoulder!" commentated Bagman as he watched the scene.

"Oh please Merlin keep him safe!" shouted one girl Ron barely remembered as the Seeker of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

"Is he going to make it?" bellowed Blaise over the crowd.

And he did. In one last daring attempt, Cedric threw himself right under the dragon and grabbed the golden egg with his unburned left arm. The moment he retrieved the egg, the dragon handlers came in quickly and stunned the Swedish Short-Snout. "That's excellent of Mr. Diggory!" said Bagman with his magnified voice. "Let's see the scores!"

Madam Maxine shot out a number seven, Dumbledore gave an eight, Karkaroff with number five, Crouch gave an eight, and lastly Bagman threw a number seven as well in the air with his wand.

"Thirty-five, not bad." remarked Daphne.

"He had a good idea, using the dog as a diversion," mused Theodore. "But I wonder if that didn't work, what would he do then?"

"Shh, I'm trying to watch." hissed Ron, his eyes on the stadium below.

"And now for our next champion, Fleur Delacour!" announced Bagman and the males in the stands began shouting and cheering for her which greatly annoyed the majority of the female audience.

"I hope she gets herself burned." scowled Pansy disdainfully.

The Beauxbaton champion was paired against a Welsh Green. From what Charlie told Ron, they weren't as ferocious as the other breeds but they could be if threatened. The match itself was confusing at first; none of the audience were able to figure out what spell Fleur was using and it seemed that she was failing considering that she kept shooting the very same spell more than a dozen of times. But after what seemed to be ten minutes, Ron noticed the dragon's movement were getting slower. "What's happening?" asked Goyle dumbly.

"It seems that -" said Tracey as she was figuring out the recent behaviour the dragon was displaying.

"The dragon is drowsy." concluded Theodore. "She's falling asleep."

"So the spell she's been throwing at all this time -" said Daphne, finally figuring out. "- it's a spell to make someone or any creature fall asleep?"

"Most likely."

Daphne looked rather torn whether she should be impressed or scoff at the revelation. "…that's well-thought out." She said finally, sounding as if she was forced to compliment the Beauxbaton champion's overall plan.

Ron had to agree with her. It was tough to keep casting one spell on a creature that was already hard to control in the first place, including the time spent on avoiding getting burned, scratched or be eaten alive by the creature. As he watched, he saw her running to the nest and grab the golden egg like Cedric did but it was amusing in the end that before the dragon finally fell asleep, she breathed fire through the nostrils which caught Fleur's robes. The Beuaxbatons champion let out a small shriek and took out her wand to cast the Aguamenti Charm, extinguishing the fire.

The total score that the judges gave her was thirty-four, one-point shorter than Cedric Diggory.

The next champion who came out earned louder cheers than the first two: Viktor Krum. Ron stood up from his seat and cheered loudly, showing his support for the famous Quidditch player from Durmstrang. Even the headmaster, Karkaroff, stood up as well and clapped loudly for his student to show his support.

The dragon the third champion was facing was the Chinese Fireball. Her body was elongated like a serpent;. Viktor wasted no time and took on against his adversary, jumping, dodging and leaping away from the dragon's advances. Then it got more interesting when he shot a well-aimed spell right at the dragon's eyes: the Chinese Fireball let out a furious roar, breathing out fire from her mouth. The worst part of the match was that since the dragon could not see anything, she trampled on the dragon eggs she was protecting.

Ron winced. _Charlie and the rest wouldn't like that at all_, he thought to himself.

"That's not going to fare well, Mr. Krum!" said Bagman, noting the incident.

Krum seemed to have realized that it was a mistake to use the spell as the Chinese Fireball was in a rampage, shooting fire everywhere she faced while thrashing her long tail like a whip. Jumping behind a huge rock to avoid the fire blast, Krum leapt into view once again and raised his wand and shouted a spell which turned out to be the rope-binding spell. Thick cords sprang out and tied around the legs and neck of the dragon.

"That's not going to stop her." said Tracey.

"But it'll give him a bit more time to get the egg." said Daphne in response.

And Daphne was correct. Krum sprinted his way to the nest and scooped the golden egg shortly before the dragon got herself free, it was enough for the match to be over and the dragon handlers took over to handle the dragon themselves.

Everyone expected that he would receive the lowest score yet but due to Karkaroff's high score given to his pupil, Krum gathered a total of forty points. "That's biased judging at its finest." snorted Theodore.

"This is what I'm waiting for," sneered Draco suddenly. "Potter's going to-"

"- make you swallow your stupid, filthy words when he outsmarts the whole competition!" finished Ron with a smirk. "Want to bet on that?" _Come on you blonde twit, catch my bait._

Both Daphne and Theodore knew that Ron was goading Draco to take the bait.

"How much?" Challenged Draco.

"Fifteen Galleons if you want." bartered Ron.

"I'm make that twenty that he won't last more than a minute!" said Draco malevolently. "If you can't give me twenty Galleons, you'll have to do my bidding for a month."

_Gotcha._ He knew there would be a fifty-fifty chance of having Harry Potter doing some kind of amazing stunt, but he could feel that the Boy-Who-Lived wouldn't disappoint him. "Good to know you're finally putting your money where your mouth is."

He turned his head as soon as he heard Bagman introduce the last Triwizard champion and he could see Harry running into the field and stopped at the sight of his adversary, the Hungarian Horntail.

"And he's going to face against the worst breed of all," mused Tracey mostly to herself. "I sometimes wonder if he has an invisible death warrant against him."

"If only that were true." shrieked Pansy while laughing.

Ron turned his attention back to the match (he really wished he could learn the Silencing spell against Pansy); Harry leapt behind the same huge rock that Krum used to avoid getting hurt but instead of facing head-on against the Hungarial Horntail (which looked more menacing when alive), he raised his wand and pointed it elsewhere while mouthing a spell he wasn't able to figure out.

"What is he doing? Pointing at nowhere?" asked one student in confusion.

"Maybe he's deluded or something," answered the other one sitting beside him.

"Or he could be waiting for something to arrive his way." guessed a nearby student who overheard their conversation. "Hey what's that thing flying over here?"

He and the rest of the students who noticed a flying object zooming toward the field. Ron slowly stood up to get a better look and his brain clicked in realisation. "Summoning Charm," he said in mild surprise.

"What? The Summoning Charm? What did he summon?" Blaise sneered in mockery but he turned to see it for himself and was shocked just as the rest of the audience currently watching what Harry did.

"He's going to outfly the Hungarian Horntail," said Daphne, surprise evident in her voice.

Seemingly nearly everyone was stunned with what they were watching until the twins, who were sitting somewhere in the middle, began shouting. They were followed by their fellow Housemates until everyone was screaming, cheering and shouting all without care. Harry displayed his superb broom flying skills, dodging every advance that the dragon made against him.

"He can FLY! Are you watching him, Mr. Krum?" shouted Bagman in delight.

Not more than five minutes, Harry dived down in tremendous speed, eliciting more screams and cheers from the audiences, especially the Quidditch fans who were able to figure out what trick Harry was using. "He's doing the Wronksi Feint! Bloody Merlin's mouldy socks!" yelped Summerby from Hufflepuff.

Ron held his breath as he watched the Gryffindor Seeker gaining speed down while the Hungarian Horntail tailed behind him. Then on the last second, Harry suddenly pulled his broom up and snatched the golden egg which took nearly everyone to realize that the match was now over.

"That's stupendous! This could be the shortest time any Triwizard champion in history!" boomed Bagman. "Very well done, Mr. Potter! And now for the scores!" Everyone turned to see: Maxine gave out an eight, Dumbledore with a nine, Crouch with an eight as well; Bagman gave a ten, and Karkaroff shooting a four in the air.

Ron let out a roar of approval. "That's the ticket!" he said gleefully as he turned to Draco. "I don't need to remind you who won the bet, right?" He barely glanced down to see Harry being greeted and embraced by Hermione and Neville, and was busy claiming his winnings against the other students. After a couple of minutes, he was carrying a rather heavy pouch.

"How much did you win, anyway?" said Daphne, eyeing on the money bag in mild interest.

"Nearly fifty Galleons, today is such a good day." Right now, he was certain he managed to gather more than a hundred Galleons since first year. He wasn't going to spend the money because he would be sending them away to Gringotts and have it kept safe in a small vault he requested during summertime before his second year.

"Come on, it's almost lunch time." said Theodore shortly. "Are you coming with us?"

"No, I have to go somewhere else," lied Ron to him. He didn't say anything more and was about to leave but Daphne grabbed his right wrist, stopping his tracks. "What?"

"We are going to talk," she said firmly with steely eyes. "Now."

"I'm busy-"

"No, you're not." She countered. "Don't make me hex you, I'm still better than you at duelling if you forgotten."

Ron glared at her but relented. The three of them walked until they were at the edge of the Forbidden Forest with tall trees obscure the vision of outsiders. "Right, we're here, so what's the de-"

"You've been avoiding us." stated Daphne without beating the bush. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"I'm not avoiding you, I told you I'm busy…" insisted Ron, but he was secretly shocked that she and Theodore noticed it.

"You leave the moment you see either one of us," she said pointedly. "And you're always making excuses when we talk, except attending the exercise and the duelling lessons. What's going on?"

"You know well enough we're not going to let this go until you answer us." said Theodore to him.

Ron looked back and forth between the two. "Malfoy noticed we're spending too much time together." he said grudgingly. "And I don't like that. What if he figures out what we're doing? What if -"

"- we don't really care of what he and the others think?" finished Daphne. "Since when have you ever cared what others think of you and now just because Draco said he saw the three of us more than usual, you're going to avoid us like we have Dragonpox? Are you that thick?"

"You're the one who doesn't want to be seen with me, remember?" bit out Ron, glaring at her. "You were the one who said not to be a hypocrite!"

"Don't you go turning this around, Ronald!" she snapped at him. "That was necessary so it wouldn't be too obvious last year -"

"And now it's not obvious? That's a fat load of -"

"Stop." ordered Theodore with a frown and the two automatically stopped but continued glaring at each other. "I don't think we've made ourselves clear to you, Weasley. We don't follow anyone. I do as I please and I don't go seeking Malfoy's approval if you haven't noticed."

"What's your point?"

"They can guess what we're up for all they want, but we're not going to avoid each other just because of them." answered Daphne for Theodore, but she was still annoyed with Ron. "We do what we want and to blazes with everyone else, that's the point. So don't you try and pull that stunt again or I'll make sure you're going to regret it. And it's not just hexing, mind you."

Ron wanted to say something, make them see that it wasn't right but for some reason, he knew all too well that they wouldn't budge because they were as stubborn as he was. "All right. All right! Fine, I won't avoid you two." He said finally.

"That's good to know," she huffed while crossing her arms.

"But this doesn't mean we're friends," continued Ron flatly. "I'm sure we're not that delusional."

"Of course we do." shrugged Theodore as he turned around to leave. "We haven't forgotten that bit." Daphne rolled her eyes at the two in response.

Ron looked at the two and sighed. _They are getting stranger by the day._

* * *

><p>Things went easier after the confrontation and Draco's words barely bothered Ron. The atmosphere around the whole castle changed as well, especially the treatment the other students were giving to Harry. Ron thought that they realised how exceedingly dangerous the whole tournament really and that they couldn't deny that the Boy-Who-Lived gave an extraordinary show for everyone to see.<p>

Then on one chilly Monday noon, all students from fourth to seventh year Slytherins were gathered inside the common room due to an announcement. "I wonder what this is all about." yawned Tracey, covering her mouth with her right hand.

"I suppose it's important, what else we'd be here?" said Pansy as she looked around without a care.

"Not including the third years and below?" pointed out Tracey.

While some of the students chatter, Ron was seated in one of the corners of the common room near the fireplace, reading a book entitled _Hilarious Jinxes for All Ages_ he'd gotten from the Twins. He, too, was wondering what the meeting could be but he didn't let his mind float about it since he would later find out.

The students fell silent as they saw Snape strode in. "I have gathered all of you to inform you about an event, therefore I expect everyone should listen closely." He said with a scowl. "The Yule Ball is a traditional event included in the Triwizard Tournament. This is an opportunity to socialise and create a stronger bond between the three schools." The girls began whispering excitedly, some were stifling their giggles. The boys, on the other hand, were gobsmacked as if they were told to undergo detention with Filch. Ron simply stared at the Slytherin Head in utter disbelief, wondering why there was a need for a stupid event.

"Only fourth years and above are allowed to attend, however you may invite a younger student if you wish…" he continued as his lips curled into a small sneer at the mere thought. "Dress Robes are to be worn and the ball is dated on Christmas day, and will start exactly at eight in the evening until midnight. I still expect all of you to behave your best. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, professor." chorused the Slytherins, the girls sounded excited while boys murmured dully.

As soon as Snape left, the common room was burst with chatter. "We only have three weeks left to prepare!" moaned a sixth year Slytherin girl.

"I have to owl my parents to send me the best dress robes! I have to look my best -"

"Bloody hell, another ball? I had enough of them to last a lifetime -" scowled Warrington.

"That's beside the point, mate. The problem here is snagging a date before someone else like a stupid Hufflepuff or bleeding Gryffindor would -" argued Montague.

"Isn't this exciting?" gushed Daphne. "I'll have to buy new dress robes – there's a new robes shop opened in Hogsmeade. I think we should all go there -"

"Draco will definitely ask me out as his date," said Pansy confidently. "I already have the best dress robes and I'll just have them sent over."

"This is going to troublesome," said Theodore as he sat beside Ron.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Nott." said Ron grumpily, dumping the book down on the carpeted floor. _A stupid ball and I have to find a date for it. Is this some kind of joke, Merlin?_

* * *

><p><em><strong>I don't think it's a joke made by Merlin, Ron.<strong>_

_**The next one will cover the rest of the Unexpected Task and the Yule Ball. I think that I will give more spotlight to Viktor, as well as Hermione. I guess also Ginny, Harry and Neville. Oh and Luna. Who will Ron ask out to be his date for the Yule Ball? Or will he not attend? I will have that bit to worry about anyway.**_

_**Ron, Theodore and Daphne are still in denial but that's fine. **_

_**Just to let you know, I have this other story called "To Take a Chance: Reading the Deathly Hallows" it's an AU-based story wherein a different reality where Harry's parents didn't die and among other differences got hold of the DH book to get their answers to win their own war against Voldemort. If you're interested in reading it, that'll be great.**_

_**It's hard to update three stories at the same time but it's fun nonetheless. At least I don't get bored in making each different chapter for the three of them.**_


	33. Chapter 32

Ever since the announcement about the Yule Ball Ron had noticed that most of the girls except the first and second years were walking around in groups, giggling with each other. He could hear some of the male students grumbling about getting dates; they were having a harder time since the female students were in packs. All in all, the behaviour didn't make any sense to the Slytherin redhead at all.

Another thing to note was that he noticed some females, even the younger years, were giving him a look he wasn't sure to describe, but he was certain he found it rather irritating and disturbing all the same. "What's with those strange looks they're giving?" scowled Ron as he walked boorishly in the corridor.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Daphne with a sigh.

"What's obvious about it?" asked Theodore while raising an eyebrow.

The three of them were walking together to the dungeons after having lunch. Ron didn't like the sounds of giggling and all the blathering about the Yule Ball all over the castle.

"They want to you guys to ask them out to the ball, obviously." She said matter-of-factly.

Both Theodore and Ron stared at her. "That's it?"

"Do you expect them to ask a boy out?" she said testily.

"There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" said Ron scratchily. "That would've made things a lot easier if you ask me."

Daphne looked at him, stunned, and shook her head in response. "You are impossible, Ronald." She moved forward to walk alongside with Tracey and chatted with them regarding dress robes and other matters relating to the Yule Ball.

"Did you understand the logic of what she said just now?" questioned the redhead to Theodore.

"Barely but it's been done for many years so I guess it's considered normal." He shrugged.

"But I think it's better if they ask not just us."

"Fair point."

They entered the cold dungeons and spent one gruelling hour making Pepper-Up potions under Snape, who seemed to be more agitated than usual. Ron was curious but he figured it could mean a lot of things.

Ron thought his week couldn't get any worse but it did. One chilly Wednesday morning, numerous owls of different sizes and colours flocked inside the Great Hall through the open wide windows above; Ron was eating his bowl of porridge in peace when a particular owl caught his attention. He took a closer look and his eyes bulged: flying feebly to his direction was no other than Errol, the old family owl and he was carrying a parcel which gave Ron an ill feeling for some reason.

Some of the Slytherins were also watching the poor owl fly to their table, faint curious looks etched on their faces. Ron instinctively raised his hands and fortunately caught Errol before he crashed on top of the stack of pancakes.

"They shouldn't have used you -" muttered Ron with a frown to Errol but Draco's voice rang to his left side, catching his attention.

"What's your dirt-poor family sent you, Weasley?" sneered Draco as he picked up the parcel. "We should find out what's inside, right?" His peers agreed and laughed on cue, causing Ron's blood to boil immediately.

He quickly grabbed the letter still attached to Errol's leg and tore it open, scanning the contents of the letter in haste.

_Ronald,_

_I found your dress robes under your bed. I've already have it cleaned and straightened out. Enjoy and have fun at the ball._

_Love,_  
><em>Mum<em>

_P.S._  
><em>I do know that you intentionally left it but I'll pretend you forgot to pack it in your trunk.<em>

The colour on Ron's face was all drained but his brain kicked in as his eyes landed on Draco who was halfway in opening the parcel. He had to think fast. He dropped Errol unceremoniously on the table, which the owl landed on top of a stack of toast, and whipped out his wand from his robes. A spell came into mind and he shouted, aiming his wand at the parcel. "_Incedio!_"

A burst of fire enveloped the package and Draco dropped it in surprise, yelping. The other students who were watching stared at him, some were wearing incredulous looks on their faces.

"…what was that all about?" questioned Tracey, glancing at the parcel in mild interest before look at Ron.

"I just saved myself from death, that's what." said Ron in response, watching the flames engulf his dreaded dress robes.

* * *

><p>"You burnt your dress robes?" repeated Ginny, giving Ron a weird look.<p>

"You would've done the same if you're in my place." he said irritably.

"Ah…that's so true." agreed George.

Fred let out a low whistle. "That's quite Gryffindor of you, ickle Ronnie. Mum would've gone mental if she hears this." He said in mild appreciation.

"If she hears about it, anyway." said Ron while raising an eyebrow. They were at the snow-covered Quidditch stands since they couldn't find a good place to talk together inside the castle (the library was an option but they wouldn't be able to talk loudly inside). "And I couldn't care less if Snape gave me detention for doing it and almost harming the other students. It's just Malfoy."

"But what are you going to wear at the ball?" asked the youngest Weasley.

Ron snorted. "I don't even want to go -"

"You're going to miss out a lot of fun," tutted George. "We can even lend you some money to buy some decent robes for the ball -"

"I don't need charity, thanks." cut across Ron. "I already have some saved."

"Aha!" said Fred in sudden triumph. "Maybe you're not going because you haven't got yourself a date!"

"Or maybe you're heartbroken because lovely Daphne Greengrass was already taken by some other bloke before you could even ask her yourself!" continued his twin, his eyes glinting mischievously.

Ron's face turned into an ugly shade of red. "I'm not going to ask her out! Stop insisting, you gits! There's no bloody way I'm going to the ball with her! She's going to be a nightmare!" shaking his head, he turned to the twins and said irritably, "How about you two? Do you even have dates?"

Both Fred and George wore smug grins which annoyed Ron further.

"In fact, we do." said Fred proudly, wagging his finger. "I asked Ange and she said yes, no sweat." Ron wasn't sure but he could've sworn a scowl appeared fleetingly on George's faces when Fred revealed his date. "And George's going with Alicia."

"So you two are going with your teammates, is that it?" said Ron flatly, crossing his arms.

"Our pretty teammates, mind you." corrected George. "Now you see here Ron, it's really easy to get a date -"

"Just approach whoever you fancy -" said Fred grandly.

"- while ignoring that nagging little voice inside your head called cowardice," added George.

"- and ask her out." finished Fred with a firm tone. "That's pretty much it."

"Doesn't that sound so easy?" said Ron sarcastically. "If only they're not walking in packs, then that would've made life easier not just for me but for the rest of the blokes here at Hogwarts."

"Well life is not fair at times, so you have to suck it up and wing it." said Fred airily.

Ginny shook her head. "You two are completely mental. Look Ron," she began as she put her attention to her closest brother in age. "Just ask someone you like, it doesn't matter if you fancy her or not, and everything's going to fine. I'm sure the ball's going to be a blast -"

"How would you know?" interrupted Ron, giving her a weird look. "You're a third year – wait a minute, don't tell me...?"

"I think our ickle brother's onto something," said George as he and Fred faced Ginny.

"Someone asked you out for the ball." stated Fred to the youngest Weasley. "Come on Firecracker, as your older brothers, you are obliged to tell us -"

"And then what?" challenged Ginny, her cheeks and ears reddening, giving the three brothers a signal that her temper was rising. "Forbid me from attending the ball? Hex him for asking me to be his date?"

Ron knew that Ginny's temper wasn't to be messed with but also his and the rest of the Weasleys. "We're just going to make sure that he's not going to do anything funny with you or he'll have to answer to us." he said without missing a beat. "Of course we're not saying you're incapable to taking care of yourself but still, we still have that right to torment anyone who dares to approach you with ill intentions or not. That's what siblings are, you can't deny that."

She looked as if she was about to retort back but stopped. "Fine, you made your point but there's no need to worry. He's pretty harmless if you ask me." She said softly.

"Just tell us who the bloke is," said George with pouty lips to which Ginny laughed.

"Fine, it's Neville." She told them simply. "You know who he is anyway."

"Of course we know him. Who wouldn't?" said Fred dramatically. "Harry Potter's best mate asked our ickle red princess, Ginerva to the Yule Ball!"

Ginny scowled at him. "Don't call me that! And don't go teasing me!" She grabbed a fistful of snow and threw it at Fred's face. Fred dodged it at ease and George threw a snowball in return. "Ron! Help me out here!" she roared, hastily making snowballs with her small hands.

"Aye, aye captain red!" said Ron and launched a couple of snowballs at the twins' direction.

The four Weasleys played snowball fights and spells were used along the way until they were too tired to move. "Right, we have to go. We have business to attend to." Said George loudly as he stood up, dusting his clothes off with the excess snow. "Time is Galleons, anyway. Let's go Gred."

When the two left, Ron turned to Ginny with a somewhat concerned look on his face: "So…are you fine that Longbottoms' your date? I did hear that Potter asked out Bones from Hufflepuff."

Ginny turned away to hide her face but Ron knew she was upset about it. "It doesn't matter. I mean, he doesn't even know I exist." she said under her breath. "Well, he does since he did save me from – from that place. But anyway, I don't care about it. At least I'm going to the ball unlike the rest of the third years so I should consider myself lucky." She said firmly in the end. "Let's go back inside."

They walked down the stands and were halfway back inside the castle when they saw a figure standing near the walkway. Ron and Ginny stopped as they immediately recognized who the person was, Viktor Krum.

But what was more surprising was that he was walking towards them, stopping in front of Ron who was staring at him incredulously.

"I vuld like to speak vid you." he said in his thick Bulgarian accent.

Ron didn't seem to have heard him so Ginny elbowed him roughly to his side.

"A-all right!" yelped Ron suddenly as he snapped himself back to reality.

"Iz it fine if I talked to him privately?" he asked shortly to Ginny who nodded meekly while looking at him in awe. "Thanks." He gestured Ron to follow him until they were at the edge of the field where no one could see them. "I hope I did not intrude on your conversation just now."

"N-no, it's fine." Said Ron hastily as he gained his confidence and trying to set aside with admiration toward the famous Quidditch star. "Is there something you need to ask…?" I know what you want. Just stop beating around the bush.

"You and Granger…" he began.

"You mean Hermione?" inquired Ron with feigned surprise. "What about her?"

Viktor frowned slightly but he continued. "…Hermi-nionny." Ron forced himself not to snicker, "…Are you seeing each other?"

Ron's eyes seemed to bulge. "W-what? No way! She and I are friends!" He stopped himself and thought if he and the bushy-haired Gryffindor were indeed friends now but his trail of thought stopped. "There's nothing going on between us, really!"

"Are you sure?" said Viktor doubtfully. Seeing Ron nod, he sighed a bit. "I'm sorry. I thought she and you are-" he scratched the back of his head and continued, "-vell, I know I may ve asking too much vut do you know if she already has a date for ze Yule Ball?"

"As far as I know, she doesn't." answered Ron honestly. "You know, I can help you ask her out without anyone bothering you."

Krum raised an eyebrow. "You vould do that?"

"Why not? You seem decent, as long as you're not planning anything bad against her." He added with a frown, feeling some sort of protectiveness over Hermione. As much as he enjoyed talking with Krum without any interruption, he couldn't help but prioritise Hermione over him which he found it rather strange but somehow normal at the same time.

"I vuldn't hurt her." answered the Bulgarian Seeker firmly.

Ron nodded in approval with a smile. "Good. So here's what you need to do-" They talked for a couple of more minutes until they heard the faint sound of the school bell ringing. "Right, that will do. I'll see you whenever."

"Thanks for this." said Krum sincerely.

"Y-yeah," he answered, his stomach seemingly filled with butterflies (or worms, he thought idly) before he reunited with Ginny.

"So," began his younger sister as soon as Krum stalked off, "What's that all about?"

"I'll let you know when I succeed." grinned Ron and the two of them walked together back inside the castle to the Great Hall to have dinner.

* * *

><p>Three days passed and only eleven days were left before the most awaited event. Ron was very pleased with himself that his plan of helping Krum ask out Hermione succeeded. But there were other matters he had to deal with. "You haven't got any dress robes?" said Daphne in utter disbelief.<p>

"I used to -" Ron tried to explain but she cut across him.

"Oh let me guess, you burned them?" she said with a knowing look. "It's the one you burned few days ago, wasn't it?"

"I have my own reasons," he scowled at her but he was internally impressed with her quick deduction.

"It'll be a real shame if you didn't attend," she huffed while crossing her arms. "Don't tell me you didn't want to go because you don't have a date?"

Ron scoffed at this. "Like I need one. How about you?"

Daphne glared at him but answered, "Obviously I have a date. His name is Francis from Beauxbatons. He's two years older than I am, and he's good-looking."

He snorted. "Sure, looks are important for someone like you."

Daphne opened her mouth to argue but Theodore spoke up, "No arguing, children." The two shot an annoyed look which he ignored it completely.

Rather annoyed that she got interrupted, she asked quickly, "So I heard from Pansy that you asked Tracey as your date. Don't tell me you fancy her?"

Theodore responded in a bored tone, "I don't need to ask someone out just because I fancy them."

Seeing as she wouldn't be able to pull out any kind of gossip from someone like Theodore, she turned to Ron and said, "You and I are going to Hogsmeade to buy dress robes. No excuses."

"I'm not going!"

"I'm sure you're definitely going to the ball," she said confidently.

"What are you? A seer?" he said mockingly.

"I don't need to explain myself to you. But I'm really certain that you will attend the Yule Ball, but for an entirely different reason." She said while rolling her eyes.

Ron would have laughed and said to her that he'd be mates with Draco if that were to happen but it seemed that her words were coming true. It was only two weeks left before the eventful date and he was walking leisurely inside the corridor going to the library when he heard a couple of girls laughing. He would ignore it as usual but the moment he knew the cause of the raucous glee, he wouldn't stay away.

"That's rich coming from you, Loony!" shrieked one girl. "No one's in their right mind would take you to the ball!"

"I think you've misunderstood me," said Luna in her usual dreamy voice. "I've only said that no one would consider you as their date because there are others who are better choices -"

"And who're you to judge?" shouted another girl who seemed to be the other girl's friend. "If I were a boy, I wouldn't approach you even if I was offered with a thousand Galleons!"

"You're only bitter because Goldstein didn't ask you." pointed out the eccentric Ravenclaw, displaying her brutal honesty that Ron knew so well.

"Why you -!" the girl let out a hiss, moving her hand to grab her wand from her robes.

Ron felt the need to step in and said loudly, "And what are you planning on doing?" His presence caused a small silence and the other students who were watching turned to look at him.

"It's none of your business!" the third girl dared to retort but seeing Ron's right hand twirling his wand made her stop talking.

"So I overheard you four talking and you three seem to really believe that no one would take Luna to the ball," he said casually but his eyes were narrowed, giving deadly glares at the three third year girls. "Well then," he turned to face the Ravenclaw outcast and said with a grin, "Say Luna, would you like to be my date to the Yule Ball?" His question earned gasps and ogled looks from the onlookers, especially a disbelieving look from the three girls.

Luna's eyes went wide and it was the first time that Ron saw her in an entirely different expression. "Oh I would love to, Ron!" she said in response, her voice mixed in surprise and bemusement.

"That's great to hear," he said and faced the three girls once more. "What do you know? She's going to the ball with me and you three aren't. Weird, no?" He threw glares at the other students watching, informing them that the show was over.

When the crowd dispersed, he asked Luna in concern, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Ron." She said with a dreamy smile. "Are you sure that you want me to be your date to the Ball?"

"Positive," he nodded firmly. "At least I know I'm going to have fun with you. We're friends."

"It's the first time someone asked me out to the ball as friends." She said simply as if talking about the weather. As the bell rang across the castle, she continued, "I better go now. Herbology is my next class and we're going to learn about Fire-eating Ferns. See you."

As she left, Ron ruffled his hair with a bemused sigh. "So I'm going to the ball."

* * *

><p>For the rest of the day and two days after, the news about Luna and Ron going together to the Yule Ball spread across the school and it was treated some sort of an odd joke which Ron didn't take it seriously. "I still can't believe you chose Lovegood as your date." Said Daphne while shaking her head.<p>

"There's nothing wrong with that," scowled Ron at her.

The two were walking toward the lively wizarding town of Hogsmeade, five days before the ball. Since most of the Slytherin girls already had their dress robes unlike Daphne who believed her dress robes back from her home wasn't right for the occasion, she dragged Ron to be her escort. "You could've asked out Eloise Midgen from Hufflepuff, she's better -" she retorted.

"Her nose's off-center if you noticed," he fired back.

Daphne stared at him and answered after a moment, "You have a point there."

She dragged Ron to the recently-opened robes shop near Madam Puddifoot's teashop (Ron couldn't help but twitch in disgust whenever he laid his eyes on the pink lace-frilled shop). She pulled the door open and pushed the stubborn redhead inside with little difficulty. At that moment, a kind-looking witch greeted them who seemed to be the owner. "What can I do for you today?" she asked with a smile.

"We need dress robes," said Daphne promptly, gesturing herself and Ron. "He burnt his if you have to know."

"Oh come on!" said Ron in protest, figuring his action had been reasonable. "You'd have done the same with those things!"

"Well then, I'll assist you two the best I can to give you the best robes I can offer," said the owner. She showed them the robes, including the new arrivals; Daphne's eyes glowed at the sight and began grabbing anything she saw would look good on her. Ron, on the other hand, stared at the bunch of dress robes blankly.

After an hour, Daphne finally decided on what dress robes she would purchase. "I'm sure I'm going to stand out," she said confidently before turning to Ron. "Well? Have you chosen any?" When she didn't get a reply, she sighed. "You didn't try any robes, did you?"

"I did!" he said, showing her the black dress robes but Daphne took them away from him. "What?"

"Honestly? Black? You could've chosen a better one." She tutted. She said to the owner, "We'll return this one and find another one, is that all right?"

The witch smiled. "That would be fine. Please take your time."

Ron let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't want to stay any longer here -" he was thrust with a set of blue robes of different shades. "What the bloody -?"

"Try them on," she said firmly. "I think blue will suit you. Come on. Go!" He followed her without complaint and went in the changing room. He first wore the light blue and barely giving it a good look once he got out, Daphne said, "Not good. Next one!" The next four dress robes were not met kindly with the blonde-haired Greengrass until he wore the last one which was cerulean blue, the same colour as his eyes.

"Okay, this is the last time I'm going through this crap -" he groaned, pushing the door open and stepping out.

Daphne turned and stopped. She blinked. The owner clapped her hands in delight and said, "Those look perfect on you, young man!"

Ron looked at them curiously but stood stiffly as Daphne closed in and examined him around. She looked at him from the robes he was wearing and into his eyes. "I like this one." She said shortly after a moment. "Your eyes stand out more."

"Oh. Er...thanks?" he said dumbly, unsure how to take her word.

She rolled her eyes as she moved back. "We'll take this one. How much is it?" she said to the owner.

After paying an addition three Galleons and twelve Sickles, the two finally got out of the shop. "You…are a difficult person to shop with," he said flatly to her. "I thought I wouldn't be able to leave."

"Get a grip of yourself, Ronald." She said dismissively. "Anyway, I have to go now. I'll see you later."

Ron watched her flounce away with her hair swinging behind her back. He looked around and his eye caught the sight of Hermione who walking with Harry and Neville. A thought entered his mind and he ran toward them while shouting, "Oi Mione!"

Hermione stopped and turned to see him, as did Harry and Neville. "Oh hi Ron," she said in greeting.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" said Ron hastily. "Alone." He added, glancing over to Harry and Neville who were looking at them funnily.

"Oh don't mind us, we'll just go to Honeydukes for a bit," said Harry airily before gesturing Neville to follow him.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

Ron grinned. "Did you say yes to him?"

Hermione's cheeks turned pink after hearing his question and said hotly, "Honestly Ron! Is that really what you want to know?" seeing his grin grew wider, she sighed but the colour of her cheeks remained. "As you would like to know…I, well…said yes." She finished embarrassedly.

"Ha! I knew it!" he said triumphantly. "You won't regret it. He's fancied you for quite a while, Mione."

"Don't call me that," she huffed. "Well I trust your judgment. But if he -"

"I promise nothing bad will happen to you, and I wouldn't let that happen." swore Ron firmly. "Just let me know and I'll hex him even if I'm a huge fan of him. Wait, at least I can be the first person to hex Viktor Krum, famous Bulgarian Seeker."

The corner of Hermione's lips twitched slightly. "If you don't have any other questions you want to ask, I'll follow Harry and Neville."

"Nope, none at all. I'll see you whenever." He turned around and grinned further as he walked, relishing his accomplishment. He had a good feeling that Viktor could've made Hermione to agree as his date without his help but it was a good opportunity to use it to converse with the famous Quidditch star personally without anyone bothering. But what was weird was honest he was that he would do anything to protect Hermione from harm.

_Must be a friend thing._

* * *

><p>The atmosphere at Hogwarts escalated as the ball drew nearer. Ron didn't notice it before but looking around, the castle brightened more than usual with the chandeliers getting an extra clean, including the suits of armour. Even the paintings seemed had their own cleaning which some of the paintings didn't like such as the group of drunken wizards from the sixth floor, east wing. Decorations filled the Great Hall which the ball would be held and Ron had to admit it looked amazing.<p>

Classes during the day were only half-day but it didn't stop some professors like Snape to give them loads of homework and a particularly nasty project about poisons and it's antidote. By the time the bell rangs, almost all of the girls flew out of the classrooms in droves, giggling and talking amongst themselves with smiles on their faces.

"…that was weird," pointed out Ron after watching the girls in the Charms classroom sped out. "What's their hurry?"

"We'll never know," said Theodore with a small yawn. "It's lunchtime. Let's go."

As they went down to the Great Hall, he noticed that nearly all of the occupants inside were males with the remaining girls eating as if they were on a marathon, except those who looked they were third year and below. Ron saw one fifth year Hufflepuff girl gulped down everything on her plate and hastily left the hall, including some other girls from different Houses. "This is getting bizarre."

"Hullo Ron," greeted Astoria who sat near the edge of the Slytherin table, having lunch like the others.

"You're not in a hurry, I suppose?" stated Ron as he sat down opposite of her.

"No. Why should I?" she asked with a curious look on her face.

"I noticed that…well, yeah." He gestured their surroundings, noting the lack of female students in sight.

The younger Greengrass realised what he was referring to and smiled, as if she was holding down her laugh. "They're getting themselves ready for the ball later." She explained simply.

"At this time? Really?" blinked Ron in surprise. "It's only twelve-thirty in the afternoon."

"…it's hard to explain but most girls need at least three to four hours to prepare for an event like this," said Astoria to him.

"Oh," conceded Ron. "I still don't get why they need that much time. They just need to wear dress robes -"

"Don't bother thinking about it, Weasley." barked one seventh year Slytherin to Ron's direction. "Females are always like that. Get used to it." Some of the students who heard him and Ron nodded shortly, even some Durmstrang students who understood seemed to agree.

Ron stared at him and the rest incredulously. Then he shook his head. "Fine."

After having three helpings worth of lunch, Ron went off to the secret meeting room to take a nap but he noticed something odd on his way; he heard a small muffling of voices from Moody's office. He wasn't sure on what he heard but it sounded as if he heard Moody talking to himself. He didn't realise he was approaching near until the door banged open and the ex-Auror stumped out, his magical eye whizzing in all directions.

"Mr. Weasley," gruffed Moody, his normal eye looking directly to the redhead.

"Professor Moody," gasped Ron, stepping back immediately. "I thought I heard something weird -"

"Like what?" he questioned and when Ron didn't respond, he continued. "It was nothing. I was checking for some traces of force-entry my office. Shame I didn't catch them."

"Who would -?"

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE I SAY !" shouted Moody in a raspy tone, causing some of the nearby sleeping portraits to wake up disoriented. "You can't trust anyone these days. Remember that, Mr. Weasley."

When he returned inside his office, closing the door with a loud bang, Ron stood bewildered. He scratched the back of his head and turned away, shrugging off what happened. "I suppose I'll go to see Damon." He muttered. Walking away, he didn't see Moody giving him a long look with an unreadable expression.

* * *

><p>At seven in the evening, Ron stood in front of his bedpost, fixing the dress robes he was now wearing. He looked at himself in front of the full body length mirror; he was thankful that he didn't have to endure himself wearing the dreadful old dress robes his mother bought for him. Daphne barged inside the dormitory earlier and claimed to be there to help both Theodore and Ron with their attire.<p>

He glanced up to his hair and noted it was neatly combed which bothered him. He moved his hand and ruffled it a bit to make it messier. "That's better," he mused.

"You're taking your time there, Weasley." commented Theodore who stood near the doorway.

Ron rolled his eyes. "I look stupid with what she did to my hair, mind you." Looking at the time, he noted it was already five minutes past seven. "Right. We should go." As he and Theodore head out, he only hoped that the Yule Ball would be worth attending.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGISE THOROUGHLY FOR NOT UPDATING FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS!<strong>_

_**A lot of things had happened for the past several weeks and I am utterly gobsmacked with everything. Let's just say that I have to pinch in a new…thing to my daily life schedule (it's not bad or illegal, I'm not that crazy) so yeah. But I am trying my best to keep on making a chapter for all of my stories not just this one. The next chapter will hopefully be exciting and fun and maybe a bit more insightful on some characters we all love. Ron will get one or two visions in the next one!**_

_**Right then, I will now have to concentrate on my other story now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you once again for reading this story! Reviews are lovely to receive but I don't wish to force you!**_


	34. Chapter 33

Ron left the dungeons and walked toward the Entrance Hall where other students were meeting their dates from different Houses or schools. Behind him were Theodore and Tracey, their arms are linked together and their fingers twined. Theodore wore crisp black dress robes, making him look sharper than ever and Tracey was in dark violet dress robes with her hair styled in loose curls.

He looked around, searching for his eccentric friend in the packed Entrance Hall when he heard a couple of giggling whispers not far away. He turned and saw her, a small smile forming on his face.

"Hullo Luna, you look nice." He greeted her with his hands in his pockets.

"You look more well-presented than usual, Ron." Luna said dreamily. She was wearingsparkly sky blue dress robes, the sparkled looking like stars glimmering in the night sky and her messy dirty blonde hair was tied in a bun which didn't seem it was done neatly. In all honesty, she looked quite decent without the dangling radish earrings and butterbeer cap necklaces.

"Shall we go now?"

Luna took his hand and nodded. "I hope they have pudding for dessert."

The redhead cracked a grin. "Let's hope so. If they don't, we can always go to the Kitchens."

As they waited for the doors of the Great Hall to open (as well as avoiding getting pushed around due to immense number of students around them), Ron's eye caught the sight of Ginny who was walking side by side with Neville. She wore emerald green dress robes which looked quite good on her and Neville in simple onyx robes. He also noticed Harry with Susan Bones whose hands was looped around his arm.

He could clearly tell Ginny was avoiding looking at Harry which, Ron thought, would be impossible since the Boy-Who-Lived and Neville stuck together like two peas in a pod. Ron felt a small surge of sadness but ignored this.

"Ginny doesn't look quite happy." remarked Luna in her usual dreamy voice, surprising Ron.

"Er…something might've happened earlier that made her upset." he added quickly, wanting to avoid the awkward conversation. Suddenly, McGonagall's voice carried across the hall, catching everyone's attention.

"Champions over here, please!"

The students moved apart almost immediately: four pairs strode in the front of the Hall and Ron craned his neck to see Krum and Hermione, but was unlucky enough to fail getting a glimpse of them. The doors to the Great Hall opened and everyone else began walking inside. "Let's go," said Ron to Luna, offering his arm to her once again.

Luna complied and clutched his arm lightly, and they both entered the Great Hall. Ron let out a low whistle as he looked around: The Great Hall was nearly impossible to recognize from its usual state; it was covered in sparkling silver frost, with numerous mistletoes and ivy above the ceiling that was currently showing the starry cloudless night sky. The House tables were not in sight and were replaced with smaller round tables good for a dozen people.

"The House-elves must've worked very hard for tonight." noted Luna, glancing around. "Shall we sit?"

"Just give me a few minutes." said Ron as he saw the Great Hall doors opened once more as the four champions, along with their chosen dates, went inside. "I'd like to see Mione and Krum -" he said to her.

The two moved closerto the rest of the students who were all watching and looking at the champions with mixed emotions of envy, awe, and surprise. Ron was on a latter side as he finally got to see the bushy-haired Gryffindor and he unconsciously had his jaw drop with his eyes widening at the sight. Luna, on the other hand, blinked once and said, "She is quite pretty, isn't she Ron?"

Hermione stood proud with Krum by her side and her face simply looked radiant. She wore periwinkle-blue dress robes and her hair was no longer bushy but was now straight and shiny, tied in an elegant knot at the back of her head. He could tell he was not the only one who was utterly shocked with her new appearance but he was really pleased that Draco and his cronies were utterly gobsmacked and speechless to come up with insults on spot. He saw her turn her head to his direction and saw him with a smile on her face. "Hello Ron!" she greeted as she gave him a small wave. Krum took notice of her reaction and looked as well, nodding to his direction in silent thanks.

Ron felt a strange warmth and a surge of envy, somewhat harder to ignore than the previous sad feeling.

Those who were near him gave him weird looks to which he pointedly ignored and pulled Luna back from the crowd to find vacant seats. Fortunately, he saw his older twin brothers with their dates already occupying a table. "Evening you two." he said to the two while nodding to Angelina Jones and Alicia Spinnet's direction. "Do you mind if we join you? Looks like the entertainment's about to start." Ron tossed a glance towards the Champions.

"Go ahead," said Fred grandly, gesturing toward the empty seats. "So Loony Lovegood's your date?" Before Ron could react, Angelina smacked his across the back of his head in reaction.

"Mind your words, Fred!" she scolded him. "I'm sorry about that Lovegood." she said apologetically.

Luna shrugged. "It's all right. I know he didn't mean to sound rude. Loony Lovegood does sound more memorable, if you ask me."

They looked at her in shock and embarrassment. George nudged an apologetic Fred.

"…I'm sorry for calling you Loony."

"You sound honest. Not everyone does that to me. Thank you." she stated rather bluntly, causing more awkwardness within the table.

She then picked the small menu and began perusing the offered contents.

Ron disliked the silence and said finally, "Erm…I'm hungry. Let's have some food." He grabbed the menu and looked. "How do we order?" he asked blankly to everyone.

"That is a good question." mused George, glancing toward his twin and their dates.

"You say the name of the food you like to eat," Luna answered simply. "Like this: Lasagna." The empty golden plate before her was suddenly filled with freshly baked dish.

"How did you know that?" gaped Fred at her.

"I saw Professor Dumbledore order Pork Chops." She replied as she picked up her knife and fork from the table.

"That makes sense." said he while shrugging and picked up the menu in front of him.

Soon everyone had their fill with the delicious food that the House-elves were making from the Kitchens (Ron mentally noted to take a quick visit later if he feeling hungry again after the ball). When nearly everyone seemed settled, the sound of music began to fill the Great Hall and all of the champions including their dates stood up and walked to the dance floor.

Everyone inside put their attention on them as they start of move gracefully. Ron saw Hermione and Krum waltzing across the dance floor and judging by the movement of her mouth, he assumed she was talking nonstop about something and somehow Krum didn't look bored. He was surprised that Harry was capable of dancing (he initially thought that Harry wasn't the type to be interested in learning it) and he noted how the bespectacled Gryffindor seemed to be enjoying dancing with Susan Bones from Hufflepuff. He pulled his gaze away and looked around to find his sister who was sitting rather numbly in her seat, looking elsewhere.

"She'll be alright." said Luna suddenly, surprising Ron.

"Yeah," agreed Ron slowly. "I know."

After the music ended, the champions were given a lively applause. The hired orchestra played new song and some of the onlookers stepped in and danced as well. "Would you like to dance?" asked Ron to his date.

Luna gave him a dreamy smile. "I like dancing."

Both of them walked towards the dance floor and danced with the rest as the music filled the Great Hall. He could somehow hear the whispers and comments made directly to him and Luna but he didn't care. "Just don't mind them," he whispered to Luna as they moved with the music.

"Are you talking about Nargles?" asked Luna conversationally and Ron stared at her. "There's a lot right now judging by the number of mistletoes hung around here."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing and because of that, he let out a loud chuckle. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about."

Things were actually turning out to be great until he noticed Draco and Pansy were a few feet away. Before he could even suggest to Luna that they move elsewhere, Draco's sneering voice was heard.

"I can't believe you're that desperate to have a date at the Yule Ball, Weasel!"

Pansy let out a shriek-like laugh. "Well the two of you certainly are suited for each other – a Loony and a Pauper." On cue, some of the nearby Slytherins snickered and even some students from other Houses joined in.

Ron narrowed his eyes at them but smiled coldly, something he'd picked up from Daphne. "I have to say, you and Malfoy are meant to be – both Slytherins and came from very old families." He saw Pansy smirking as if she liked his words, Draco mirrored her internally sneered and continued, "Not to mention you're animals. I mean, you're a bulldog Parkinson and Malfoy's a ferret. All that's left is a cage for you two to share." Without wasting a second, he pulled out his wand discreetly, spun Luna with one hand, and shot a Wax Spell (he had to admit, it was quite useful) on the spot where Draco and his minions were standing.

His eyes glinted in mirth as he watched them fall on their behinds in shock and surprise with Pansy shrieking like a cow. "Let's go over the other side Luna." he suggested with a grin. As they transferred to a different spot, some of the dancers moved away hastily, wanting to avoid getting hexed by the redhead Slytherin (much to Ron's amusement).

"All right, but I'd like to eat some pudding after one more song."

The pair danced once more even though Ron wasn't exactly an excellent dancer, but it was quite fun(for once he actually felt like admitting it). Halfway through the music, he let his eyes wander for a bit and it landed on a certain wizard he couldn't believe was there. "Percy? What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he said tactlessly.

"Language, Ron." warned the third older Weasley brother. "As for your question, I am here on behalf of Mr. Crouch." He told him while puffing his chest out.

"Why is that?" questioned the redheaded Slytherin blankly.

"I suppose he's not feeling very well for the past few days – he stopped coming to the office and only sent instructions thru owl." Remarked Percy and Ron noticed that he wasn't annoyed by it.

"Oh. Right. So we'll probably be seeing you next year if Crouch is still ill?" said Ron.

"Yes, if he's still not well."

"You're surrounded with a larger infestation of Wrackspurts," said Luna suddenly to Percy in her usual misty tone. "You should clear your mind once in a while."

Both Ron and Percy stared at her, unable to respond to her comment. "I'll...keep that in mind." Said Percy slowly.

Without saying a word, Percy and Ron, along with Luna, parted ways; the two continued to dance as if nothing happened but with the peculiar Ravenclaw commenting once in a while. Before it ended, Ron caught a glimpse of someone rushing past, accidentally hitting him on the side. He opened his mouth to shout at the person in question but blinked in surprise when he realized that it was Daphne who was running out of the Great Hall.

"You should follow her." said Luna suddenly in a more serious tone, causing him to jump.

Ron gawked at her "W-what d'you mean -?"

"She's your friend, isn't she?" she said matter-of-factly. "She looked like she wasn't having a good time."

"But I can't just leave you alone." he frowned, still holding her hand. "And she and I aren't-"

"I'll be fine." Luna cut him off. "I can just order pudding while waiting for you." she said simply. She pulled herself away and turned around. "There is no reason for you to deny what's already there. I don't think you should be afraid." And she walked from the dance floor until she was out of sight.

Ron was perplexed.

_But I'm not in denial. Of anything._

He grumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair. He looked toward the entrance.

He left the Great Hall, not noticing Ginny or the twins looking at him walking off, as he began searching for Daphne. He looked around, trying to find her until he saw a flicker of her dress robes from the right end of the hallway. He excused himself from the other students entering the Great Hall and found himself at the gardens where very few students lingered. Then he heard a faint sob coming from his left and followed the sound until he saw a figure sitting aloneon a bench near the fountain.

From the sob he knew it was Daphne and it was an unusual sight to see her like that. He'd never seen her look less than composed.

Ron hesitated, unsure what he could do in this situation (he didn't even know why she was upset) but even if they weren't on the best of terms he couldn't just turn a blind-eye. He took a deep breath and approached her carefully, not wanting to get a rise from her as he remembered 3rd Year.

Daphne looked as if she had heard someone coming closer.

"Whoever you are, leave me alone; I don't want to talk to anyone-"

"I can tell." said Ron automatically and he mentally kicked himself for his runny mouth.

Daphne looked up and was momentarily shocked to see him. But she frowned and said angrily, "Look, just have your laugh and get out of here. I'm in no mood for you right now."

The redhead interrupted her. "I'm not going to do that, that's stupid." When she didn't retort, he thought it was good to continue. "Look, I don't think you should be upset over whatever happened. If you ask me, I think it's a waste of time. And - and -" he tried to search for better words but nothing seemed to come to mine. Girls could be so hard.

"…and you're a Greengrass, you don't cry over stupid things. The Daphne I know wouldn't let _anything_ get to her that easily." He finally finished. She looked up at him.

"You said my name," she said softly. Her eyes were tear-stained and some of her make-up on her face was worn off but she still looked pretty, Ron reluctantly admitted to himself.

"Well it's your name, there's nothing to get excited about." he said quickly, his ears turning red. "And it's just kind of strange seeing you like this if I do say so; I'm going to call you what you want so you can get over this."

She stared at him before standing up. "You're absolutely right." she said finally after a moment of silence. "I'm not supposed to be like this." She pulled out her wand and pointed it at her face before casting a spell which happened to be a make-up retouch spell. "Let's go, Ronald."

Ronald gave her a dubious look. "Are you mental? You actually want to be seen with _me_ at the Ball?"

"Oh stop acting like a worrywart," she snapped at him. "I have a plan and you're going to help me."

"And what kind of plan do you have in mind?" he asked warily, stepping away from her. "And honestly, what made you go and turn into a living waterworks?"

"It's that Beauxbatons boy, Francis. The one I mentioned to you and Theodore few days ago." She spat as if saying the name was something disgusting. "Apparently, he and his group had some sort of bet about getting a date, a Hogwarts girl."

"Alright…" said Ron slowly, trying to picture the whole thing.

"Then on this very grand event, they'd ditch their dates en masse." Finished Daphne with a hiss.

"Oh."

"So you're going to assist me in returning them a_ huge_ favour for choosing me as their target." She said with a wide smile. Ron thought she looked quite menacing. "You _are_ going to help me, right?" her tone was low and serious.

"Yeah, I'll do that." He said to avoid her wrath this time. "So what are you planning?"

Daphne began telling him what they would be doing and Ron was impressed with her creativity. The two went back inside the Great Hall and quickly linked their arms together, ignoring some of the looks that were thrown their way. "We'll dance our way to those prats and when I count to three we'll do it. Understand?" she said quickly to him as they positioned themselves, beginning to dance. They twirled around, checking the dancers until Daphne spoke.

"There they are."

A few feet away were the three pairs, all of them from Beauxbatons. As they gotten closer, one of the targets saw them and shouted something in French which caught the others' attention. Ron felt Daphne's hold tighten in his hand and said lowly to her, "Whatever he is saying, don't mind it. Let's just make them pay."

"You're right," she nodded. "On the count of three – two – one -"

Suddenly the Beauxbatons students' shoes got stuck on the floor which caused some of them to trip and flail. Then the girls' hair colour turned into an ugly shade of orange and yellow, greatly remindingRon of vomit, while the boys' hair turned purple and acid green. But it didn't stop there: The boys' teeth grew rapidly, bright pink spots appeared on their skin and their ears enlarged almost as huge as a tea saucer. The girls' skin all went horribly blue with yellow spots with their noses elongating.

Ron and Daphne hid their wands and joined in the rest of the nearby dancers who were laughing at the sight. "Mission complete." she said with a smirk.

"Congratulations on a job well done Miss Greengrass." Said Ron in mock-pride.

"It's Daphne, as you promised," she reminded him as they waltzed across the dance floor.

The Slytherin redhead wanted to retort but shrugged it off. "Alright Daphne." As the song ended, everyone clapped their hands to the orchestra.

"Thank you for helping me out." said Daphne honestly as they let go of each other.

"Eh, no need to thank me. What they did was scummy."

Out of courtesy, he bowed to her, took her hand and placed a light kiss on top. As soon as his lips touched her skin, he felt a sudden rush and his surroundings changed immediately.

_The Great Hall was in chaos: filled with screams, shouts, and horrible noises. Everyone was fighting, shooting spells of all kinds at each other. Ron recognized some of them as Death Eaters. He looked around and saw an older Oliver Wood and Katie Bell fighting alongside against a burly-looking Death Eater, as well as the others like a boy he barely recognized as Colin Creevey and theHufflepuff Justin Finch-Fletchley. Justin looked rather roughened up as the duo were trying to protect others as much as they could._

_Then he heard a familiar voice nearby. "Go! I can handle myself!"_

"_I can't leave you! You shouldn't be -!" Someone replied angrily. The voice Ron seemed to barely recognize._

"_If you ever cared for me, then do as I say! We don't have much time left! Now go! Theo, take him away from here now!" He saw a glimpse of long blonde hair and he followed until he finally saw the person who turned out to be an older Daphne. Her clothes were already worn and dirty and her blonde hair was tied in a messy pony front of her was a Death Eater with a pale and long twisted face that Ron knew all too well: Antonin Dolohov._

"_I must say that I never expected the Greengrass family to have fallen this low." he growled with a twisted smile._

"_You're wrong," said Daphne with her eyes narrowing, her wand out and pointed directly at him. "Because my family weren't the ones kissing someone's feet like a pitiful servant. We're above that."_

_Without warning, she shouted, "_Stupefy!_"_

_It was horrifying for Ron to watch: every spell shot by Dolohov nearly hit Daphne but she managed to dodge each of them at the last minute, and it was bad enough that the Death Eater himself looked as if he was enjoying it. "Don't tell me this is all you got?" he sneered at her while easily avoided another of her spells. "Such a shame."_

"_Don't underestimate me!" she growled, "__Impalare!__" A dark red spell shot out from her wand like a spear and landed on Dolohov's left shoulder, blood squirting out from the spot. _

_Dolohov cursed loudly while Daphne smirked. "You bitch." He seethed in fury, glaring at her while holding his wounded shoulder with his free hand. _

_The duel between the two continued with more ferocity until Ron heard a distant voice calling Daphne's name. The voice itself sounded familiar but he couldn't identify it. "Daphne! Daphne! Get away from him!"_

_Daphne's head turned for a moment, looking for the person who called her, but it was a lethal mistake. Dolohov, who finally saw an opening, screeched in delight. "_Avada Kedavra!_"_

_As if in slow motion, the Killing curse hit Daphne on the back and her eyes widened at the spell took effect. Like a puppet with its strings cut off, she fell on the floor eyes wide open but blank._

_She's dead._

Ron froze at the sight but Daphne's voice resurfaced and he snapped out from his trance and stared at her in shock.

"What's wrong with you, Ronald?" asked Daphne, looking at him curiously.

"Ah – I don't feel so good." he blurted out, earning weird looks from the nearby dancers. "Gotta go to the loo, sorry." He sped away from her without looking back and took the nearest staircase, running up until he finally found himself alone. Panting heavily, he bent down and clutched his arms as he tried to stop from shaking. "She can't die like that." he whispered to himself. "It's not possible."

It was too surreal for him and having that vision made him more uncertain of what would happen in the future than anything he'd seen before.

* * *

><p>Moody limped back inside his office, making sure that no one was in sight with the help of his magical eye. Closing the door behind him, he sat in front of the fireplace and took out his wand. "<em>Incedio<em>" he grunted, and the fire erupted from the hearth bringing light and took a good amount of Floo powder and threw it at the scorching flames. The fire turned emerald green and Moody knelt down, murmuring "Riddle House!"

His mind began to spin but he managed to compose himself until he heard the voice he craved to hear for so long. "My Lord." he said breathlessly. Sitting in the high chair was no other than Lord Voldemort with Wormtail standing meekly behind.

"My most faithful servant."

"It is an honour to serve you." murmured Moody.

"Is the plan going well, I expect?"

"It is, my Lord. The Potter boy has passed the First Task as intended. The Second Task will take place in the approching month of February. I have already formulated a way to assist him with the task."

"Very well. And the other boy?" questioned the dark wizard.

"He is placed in the House of Snakes. From what I gathered and observed, he is well-acquainted with Nott's son and Greengrass's eldest daughter." He said. "He is also friends with the Potter boy's Mudblood friend."

"Is there anything else that you have observed from him?"

"He is secretive with his own actions -"

"You will find out what he is hiding and you will relay it to me immediately." said Lord Voldemort in his high voice. "We wouldn'thave to break Wormtail's sanity for your incompetence, now would we?" In the background, Wormtail whimpered at the veiled threat, "I still need his Potioneering skills for my return. Your task is to assist Potter to win the Triwizard Tournament as well as discover what the boy is hiding."

"Of course, my Lord. I will do as you say." said Moody with conviction.

"Now go, do not contact us until you are able to find out."

* * *

><p><em><strong>And this is where I end this chapter.<strong>_

_**Firstly, I would like to apologise for not updating this story for more than a year. I know it's wrong but looking back, I didn't have much inspiration to use to continue this story. It was only around two months ago that I decided to attempt in completing this chapter. **_

_**Secondly, I am very much aware that the vision is like a huge spoiler but aren't visions spoiler themselves? Well, heck yeah they should be. Hmm I'll leave it up to you guys to decide if you like it or not. Am I going to kill off a major character in this story? Ehh it's still a 50/50 chance. If it is to make the story much more entertaining, why not? Nothing wrong about it. That's what Rowling did. **_

_**Lastly, I will try to update this story. I noticed that my AU Reading the DH book has been removed so I'm deciding I should just skip it and make the story after they read the book. But anyway, I'm pleased that I finished this chapter because it was honestly hard. I know some of you could come up with a better one but ah well. I admit this chapter isn't very good.**_

_**I will repost the previous chapters and re-edit them btw.**_

_**I would like to say thank you to those who are waiting for a chapter for so long. And sorry again if it took a long time {you can hit me – just virtually}.**_

_**Until next time, folks! **_


	35. Chapter 34

Ron didn't go back to the Great Hall right away.

Instead, he went to the Slytherin Dungeons where he locked himself inside the boy's dormitory and took out a piece of parchment, a spare quill, and an ink pot. Usually he'd write down all of his visions in his journal, however he felt that the vision he just had shouldn't be read by anyone, especially Theodore and Daphne. Once done, he used a Drying Spell he learnt from his mother few years ago on the parchment before stuffing it in one of his old socks and placing it at the lowest part of the trunk hidden by rest of his most useless things.

He left the dungeons and made his way back to the Great Hall where he approached Luna, who was currently sitting alone while eating pudding. "You seemed to be in a rush earlier," said Luna musingly.

"I thought I left something behind so I had to check just to be sure," lied Ron with a crooked grin before glancing around and found Daphne with Tracey and Theodore.

Daphne saw him and raised an eyebrow with a 'what-happened-to-you?' look on her face. Ron shrugged in response but gave a nod as a way to end the short yet silent conversation.

The night ended on a good note and everyone went back to their respected Houses in high spirits. Ron made sure he was the last one to go inside the Slytherin common room to give himself some bit of peace and time to think about the vision he had. He didn't want to believe it as much as the other visions like his siblings getting hurt or worse, and he figured from that point that he would have to watch out for her to avoid it from happening in reality.

As he got inside the dormitory, he found Draco and the rest (minus Theodore) glaring at him. "What?" he snarled, his right hand grasping his wand at ready.

"I'm not going to let you sleep well tonight after what have done earlier," growled Draco.

Ron then remembered what Draco was talking about and snorted. "Oh really? What are you going to do?". He wasn't in the mood to deal with him or anyone. Before he could let Draco speak, he already had his wand out and said, "_Dormite._"

A purple light shot out and directly hit Draco's face. The blonde Slytherin's eyes began to droop. "Y-you - pay for - t-his Weas-sl -" he spluttered between yawns, suddenly slumping on the floor and began snoring. The rest of the occupants stared incredulously.

"Anyone else who wants to go at me?" said Ron testily, glaring at them.

"I don't have time for this," said Blaise irritably and went to bed.

Crabbe and Goyle were the only ones standing. Theodore was already in bed, curtains pulled together. After what seemed to be decades, they decided to carry Draco to his bed before heading over to theirs.

_Good choice you made_, Ron thought. He turned his back on them and lied on his bed, pulling the covers over him to sleep.

* * *

><p>Even after the Yule Ball, the students didn't stop talking about it. As expected, rumors sprouted up. One of which included Daphne and Ron dancing together. Ron resisted the urge to hex all those who were talking about it and avoided the twins and Ginny who were keen to know the details of what actually happened (he knew that even if he told them the truth, they wouldn't believe him anyway). Daphne, on the other hand, made an excuse that Ron wouldn't approve of but had to accept because he wouldn't be able to stop her from talking.<p>

"I can't believe you danced with Weasley," said Pansy disdainfully. "I wouldn't be caught dancing with the likes of him even if I were offered a million Galleons."

"Oh but I didn't have much of a choice, he was the only one who was willing to help me out. You know how much he's headed over heels to me, even if he denies it," said Daphne and faked a sob while dabbing her eyes with a laced handkerchief.

"Those Beauxbaton boys will get what they're deserve, targeting Slytherins for their prank," said Tracey seriously.

Apparently, the incident regarding Daphne and the Beauxbaton boys were heard only amongst the Slytherins, and they were keen on not letting the news out. If there was one thing about the House of Snakes that impressed Ron, it was their unity and loyalty with their House members (most of them, anyway). If a Slytherin got hurt or pranked by someone outside their House, they would retaliate with equal or bigger force. As expected, the Slytherins plotted revenge against the group and while Ron didn't want to admit it, he was impressed with the outcome.

It was already Saturday and he, Daphne, and Theodore were in the secret room improving on their dueling skills while learning new hexes they could find from the books they gathered (and also from the Nott's vast collection of banned books).

"What do you think of this one? The Puppeteer Curse," said Ron, squinting his eyes to read the description better. "It's like the Imperius Curse except that you can control the person's body but not the mind."

"Sounds interesting, good form of distraction." said Daphne mildly. "How about this curse? The Dementor curse."

"What can that do?" frowned Ron.

"It gives the victim illusions of their worst fears. It's created based on the Dementor's ability to show someone their worst memory," answered Theodore shortly.

"It made sense why it was banned."

After a few more minutes of reading and researching, they wrote down all the spells they deemed useful and set it aside for future practice although Ron wasn't keen on using some. He didn't like some people, but he wouldn't use it unless he hated them enough.

"Where are you going? It's nearly lunchtime," said Daphne as she noticed Ron walking to the other side of the corridor.

"I just need to walk for a bit," Ron said without glancing back.

Ever since he had that vision, he had some trouble looking straight at her. But he managed to do so to avoid any confrontation by pretending he didn't foreseen it (and the fact that he buried it inside his thoughts by stacking himself with more work). He took a shorter route to the seventh floor where he knew there were lesser people and began walking around aimlessly, letting his mind wander for the meantime.

The more he thought about everything that had happened for the past few years since entering Hogwarts, the more he believed that there was something big that connected everything that had been happening for the past few years. Of course, he had this discussion earlier with Theodore and Daphne (although it was glossed over) and now, he was more certain about it.

During first year, there wasn't much except for the rumor about a valuable stone and some students who managed to save it from someone who tried to steal it which he was sure that it was Potter, Longbottom, and Hermione. As far as Ron was concerned second year was the worst, as he hadn't been able to watch over Ginny closely and the fact that she nearly died because of Draco's father (Ron swore he'd find a way to make Malfoy Senior pay for that someday). Last year - third year - wasn't as horrible as the previous year since they had a decent Defense professor who just happened to be a werewolf, but finding out that a murderer and Death Eater who had been pretending to be his pet at the same time being assaulted and dragged down to the Shrieking Shack by a wrongfully convicted wizard wasn't his cup of tea. Not to say the least, the Dementors' presence throughout the school didn't help much.

_And now this year… _

Ron continued to walk around the seventh floor and passed by a huge portrait of Banarbas the Barmy who attempted and failed to teach trolls ballet. Something dangerous yet exciting as the Triwizard Tournament was revived and being held at Hogwarts. _And the Dark Mark that appeared right after the Quidditch World Cup_, thought the redhead, frowning. _Who cast it? Why would the other Death Eaters who caused trouble at the campsite ran away from the sight of it?_

He let out a sigh of frustration and stopped moving. "I wish I could get more information." he grumbled to himself. "If I could only control my Seer ability better-" he stopped talking and stared at a door which he was sure hadn't been there earlier.

Looking around to see if anyone was watching him, he approached the door apprehensively while taking out his wand and went inside.

It was nearly empty with only a bookshelf, a low-legged oval table, and a sofa inside. Ron was feeling rather suspicious of the place until his gaze fell on the table with a book that he was certain was there when he got in.

_What the bloody hell is this place?_

The title was interesting enough, the redhead noted as he picked it up. "_Theoretical Aspects of Potion Enhancers and Its Effects on the Magical Core,_"he read slowly, his interest piqued. He could tell that the book itself wasn't included in the library because, to Ron's guess, that it could be used and abused on a number of things. He sat down and opened the book, flipping through the pages until a certain paragraph caught his attention.

_Considering that Potions are meant to do the following:_

_1. Cure or remedy the illness _

_2. Cause bodily harm to the recipient _

_3. Affect the state of being physically and mentally_

_It can also be determined that potions can help or assist a wizard's capabilities, especially the magical core. As this has yet to be tested due to the high risks it may entail, the research for improving or in some other cases, enhance the magical core of a wizard or witch, would still be theoretical. But such creation has its advantages:_

_a. More powerful spell casting;_

_b. The five senses will dramatically increase;_

_c. Possible inner abilities might awaken; and_

_d. Existing rare abilities will be improved. _

_There would still be certain side-effects once the potion would be consumed, such as:_

_a. Fatigue;_

_b. Due to powerful spell casting, the magical core will be exhausted faster;_

_c. Inability to maintain and control the sudden improvements;_

_d. Possible permanent loss of magic; and _

_e. High risk of death._

_However, if and only if the disadvantages could be bypassed, then this could pave way in finding ways to help those of wizarding heritage without magical capability to unlock their dormant magical core which would, in turn, slow down the increasingly rapid extinction of the magical community since the first wizarding war._

_The instructions of creating this potion was yet to be tested. The effects of the potion, if successful, might not be permanent and should be sparingly used with cautiousness._

The more Ron read, the more he was convinced that it was the only way to improve his control over his Seer ability. Without thinking twice, he took the book and showed it to Theodore and Daphne who were surprised and suspicious at the same time about this.

"Are you sure you want to drink...this?" questioned Daphne for the fifth time after reading the passage.

Ron scowled at her. "Yes! You said I need to have better control of my ability and I think this is the closest thing I can do about it even if it's temporary."

"Not to mention risky," added Theodore.

"Aren't all of the things we've done for the past three years risky enough?" said Ron testily, glaring at him.

"But not as risky as this. You're talking about temporarily enhancing your magical core, and there could be so many things that we don't know could happen!" shot back Daphne. "And it's not been tested yet, we have no idea what else this will do to you! Do I have to remind you the dangers of using potions that has not been fully regulated by the Ministry?"

"I don't need reminding since Snape did that part, thank you very much," said the redhead through gritted teeth. "Look, it's only for one-time use and I need you to make this. Or have someone else do this."

"You're not thinking straight," said Daphne with a frown, clearing disagreeing with everything that had been discussed.

"What's going on with you?" questioned Theodore suddenly, his eyes narrowing toward Ron. "You're usually not like this."

"You wouldn't understand -"

"Oh really? Try me."

"Don't get me started, Nott -" growled Ron. "It's not like you have someone to protect." Theodore didn't retort and his face was unreadable. Daphne, however, wore a disapproving look.

"That was a low blow," she said. "Just because he and I have different priorities than you doesn't mean you have every right to judge our goals. You wouldn't have reached this much if it weren't for us and the things we are capable of providing for your needs."

The Slytherin redhead gave her a mild glare but let her words sink in. She had a point. He wouldn't have gotten half of the answers he needed if it weren't for them.

"I…just cut me some slack, will you? I'm doing this for us, all of us, for whatever it is we need. Even if it is dangerous," he said slowly as he pushed his rising anger and frustration downward. "I'm not asking you to making a lot of this. In fact, I just need one vial, just for one use. If anything bad happens to me, that'll be my fault. Alright?"

"But when are you going to use it?" questioned Daphne. "I can't possibly imagine you taking it and trying to - I don't know what - get something out of the vision."

"It doesn't matter when, what matters is when the right time comes that I will use it for our benefit," said Ron to her as he began to pace around inside the secret meeting room. "I just had this hunch. I could be wrong."

"What hunch?" Theodore said, a calculating look in his eyes..

Ron looked at him then to Daphne, thinking whether or not to tell them. "You remember the one we talked about last year? Right before Black arrived at Hogwarts screaming at the top of his lungs?"

"You mean if there was a connection between You-Know-Who's impeding return and Potter being forcibly chosen as a champion?" asked Daphne with a dawning look on her face. "We didn't exactly discussed it thoroughly - it was more of a whim on your part."

"Yeah, but even before that, we can all agree that everything that happened since first year was all connected to Potter. That's exactly what I'm saying."

Daphne turned to Theodore as if wanting him to speak up.

"I vaguely remember the specifics of the conversation," he said finally. "But as strange as it seems…you might be overthinking things."

Ron threw a dirty look at him. "Can you make the potion or not?" he questioned Daphne.

She glared back at him but said reluctantly, "Fine, but I'll have to find someone who is willing to do this in secrecy. I can't possibly make the potion myself with Moody walking around with his hideous eye being able to see through walls - but I'm warning you Ronald, don't overstep yourself on this."

"Don't worry, I'll let you two know when I'm going to use it," said Ron sarcastically.

"A question," said Theodore suddenly, watching Ron with a mildly interested expression on his face as he held the book with his hand after taking it from Daphne.

"What?"

"Where did you even get this book? I doubt this came from the library, even the Restricted Section," he said matter-of-factly.

"I got it from the seventh floor. There was a room near the tapestry -"

"Wait, wait," interrupted Daphne. "There's a room at the seventh floor near the tapestry?"

"Of course there is a room at the seventh floor, a number of them," said Theodore, bemused with her reaction.

Daphne rolled her eyes at him and said, "Obviously there are rooms on the seventh floor like Flitwick's office, the Divination classroom, the Hall of Hexes -"

"Wait, there's a Hall of Hexes?" said Ron in apparent surprise. "I should've visited it -"

"Will you two stop talking?" snapped the girl. "And I thought you already know most of the castle." she added, shooting a look at Ron who ignored her. "Anyway, I was just surprised that there's a room near the tapestry that Ronald said just now."

"Why so?"

"Because there's no room there, I'm sure of it."

Ron and Theodore stared at her. "That can't be right," said the redhead.

"There isn't, Tracey and I usually spend our time at the North Wing studying there," said Daphne simply. "We always passed by the tapestry with the ridiculous wizard trying to teach trolls ballet."

Theodore glanced between the two. "Well, the castle is supported by magic. It might be chance that Weasley got the book by accident and there was a room when he was there."

"So you're saying that the room might not be there when we get back?" questioned Ron.

"In a sense, yes." he nodded.

Ron couldn't seem to accept the conclusion that the weedy Slytherin just said. Sighing, he said, "Fair point. So I guess the potion will be ready in two months, though it'd be better it's done in a month. You never know when stuff could happen."

And he was right. Christmas break was already over and classes resumed. Ron wasn't happy at the amount of homework he and the others were getting from their professors who were claiming that it would help them in their preparation for their OWLs. On the bright side, Ron was happy enough to receive gifts on his birthday: delicious chocolate cake made by his mother, some prank items from the twins they bought from Zonko's, a bag filled with Chocolate Frogs from Ginny, a new set of quills from Hermione, and a sketch of him laughing with the others by Luna. Of course, he was shocked that Daphne was aware of his birthday and she and Astoria gave him a new chessboard set. Theodore surprised Ron further by giving him a small book of hexes and curses which he found useful. Overall, it was a good day even if Draco and his cronies tried and failed to ruin his day.

Life at Hogwarts continued to be as normal as anyone could hope for (except for someone like Ron) with some bumps here and there that he'd run into. After the third week of January, unpleasant news began to start up about Hagrid the Gamekeeper and current Professor of the Care of Magical Creatures.

"I can't believe our headmaster was this senile to hire _him_."

"At first, I thought he was fed with Skele-Gro when he was growing up, but_ this_ made a lot of sense."

Curious, Ron grabbed the nearest Daily Prophet he could get within his reach and began to read the contents until he found the article. "_Dumbledore's Biggest Mistake,_" he read to himself and proceeded to view the whole article. By the time he was done, he had a disgusted look on his face. "What the bloody hell's wrong with everyone? He's only half." Admittedly he was shocked that Hagrid was half-giant but considering that he got to know a bit than the rest of the students, he was sure he wasn't as vicious as the actual giant.

"As expected from someone like you, Weasel," sneered Draco who overheard him. "You'd go matey with the likes of that ugly, fat oaf." The rest of the Slytherins snickered and snorted in reaction.

Ron curled his lips. "It's better than being part-troll like your stooges Crabbe and Goyle. Their part-human brains couldn't even give them enough sense to keep them from following a total git like you," Without having to hear him retort, he left the Great Hall to attend to Herbology class.

Unfortunately, the insults coming from the Slytherins headed by Draco Malfoy didn't stop until Ron's patience ran out quickly as usual and hexed him and the rest he would point his wand at and earned himself two weeks' worth of detention courtesy of Snape. "He's a really pureblooded git, isn't he?" frowned Ginny.

"You're not the only thinking about blood these days." said Ron darkly. He was with his younger sister and Luna and all three of them were at Hogsmeade on one fine weekend.

"It's not Malfoy's fault for being who he is right now," said Luna solemnly, earning disbelieving looks from the two. "Daddy told me that Malfoy Sr. forced his son to live with a colony of vampires for ten years while making him recite poetry made by Augustus Freedinkle - he's the one who supports the democracy of Dementors and have them funded to live in the Bermuda Triangle."

Both Ron and Ginny stared at her and resisted not to laugh. The day at Hogsmeade ended on a good note when he saw Harry hexing Draco behind his back at the Three Broomsticks before going out of the pub. Ron somehow overheard the bushy-hair Gryffindor said rather intensely, "Let her try! I'll show her! Silly little girl, am I? I'll get her back for this. Let's go Harry, Neville -"

"What's got her knickers in a twist?" asked Ron in mild curiosity as he, Ginny, and Luna got inside the Three Broomsticks.

"Probably someone that got her nerves," suggested his younger sister.

Ron would really like to know what got Hermione's feathers ruffled so easily but his thoughts of it were disturbed as soon as he sat down and got his order of Butterbeer.

* * *

><p>Days flew by and it was already February, much to everyone's excitement. The Second Task was already on its way and all of the students were brimming with anticipation of what the task would entail. Unlike the First Task, nearly all of the Hogwarts student population (minus the Slytherins) were more accepting of Harry Potter as part of the champions and the boy in question seemed more relieved than ever with the lack of glares and whispers.<p>

Aside from the Second Task, Valentine's Day was around the corner and the students (mostly the male population) worked themselves up to ask and look for dates, much to Ron's disgust. It wasn't as horrible as the second year with Lockhart parading the halls with his rude dwarves dressed as Cupid, but it wasn't to his liking as usual. Unlike the twins who seemed to be making use of the said day by showering Professor McGonagall with pink confetti and offered her a huge bouquet of flowers while singing horridly made love poems at the top of their lungs.

Unfortunately, he wasn't getting enough visions and he had a feeling Dumbledore would be calling him anytime soon. As his gaze landed on Krum who passed by with a group of giggling girls trailing behind him, he somehow remembered the vision he had from him with regard to a senile-looking Barty Crouch. He frowned at the bizarreness of the scenario and thinking about the other wizard who appeared after Harry left and apparently stunned the famous Quidditch player behind his back was, in his opinion, shocking enough.

"If only I can get more information out of it," he mused to himself but stumbled back as he hit someone in front. "Bloody -" he swore.

"Hold that thought, Ron," said a familiar voice.

Ron looked up and gaped at the person in front. "Bill? What are you doing here?" he questioned.

The eldest of the Weasley siblings, Bill, simply grinned in response. He stood tall and confident, wearing his usual style of robes, his long hair tied in a low ponytail and his trademark fang earring. "I was expecting for a warmer welcome." he said, apparently teasing him.

"You wish."

"So where are the others?" asked Bill as he looked around with a reminiscent look on his face.

"The twins are probably cooking up some prank somewhere, and Ginny might be at their common room, doing girly things." guessed Ron with a shrug. "You haven't answered my question."

"Dumbledore asked for my presence." said Bill simply.

"About?"

"Just a yearly check-up on the castle's wards, those things. I'm a Curse-Breaker, remember?"

"And you work in Egypt," said Ron flatly as the two began to walk together. "And why do you need to check the wards of the castle, anyway?"

"Well, a place this huge requires a large amount of magic to keep it Unplottable as well as the other wards for the Muggles to not notice this. And this is no ordinary castle; in fact, I've always believed Hogwarts has a life of its own. How do you think the staircases keep on changing? Some of the classrooms - if you noticed enough - appear and disappear, that's why each year the location is always different. Thank Merlin that the Houses themselves don't change, but I suppose that's intended by the Founders."

"Anyway, I'm the only who's available to go here this year. Also, I've always missed Hogwarts." grinned Bill as he looked around and waved at some of the older students.

Ron looked at their surroundings and saw some students looking at his brother, and even the girls eyeing on him while giggling. There was one Beauxbaton student who even flipped her hair as if trying to catch the Curse Breaker's attention which amused him.

"Ever the popular Headboy," he mumbled.

"What are you saying?" asked Bill with interest.

"Uh, nothing."

Without a word, Bill withdrew his wand and a piece of laced handkerchief zoomed to his hand. He stopped and gave it a female student who was no other than Fleur Delacour. Ron blanched and spun around to avoid looking at her, expecting his older brother to do the same.

"You dropped this," said his brother from what Ron could hear.

"Zank you," came the haughty response from the Beauxbaton champion. Ron dared to look at what was happening: both Bill and the part-Veela were looking into each other's eyes and from what the younger redhead could understand, Bill wasn't very much affected with the Veela charms.

"Don't try and lose it," he said simply before turning away. "Let's go, Ron."

Ron didn't get to see the reaction of the half-Veela as he ran after his older brother. "How did you bloody do that?" he questioned him in shock.

"What are you talking about?"

"That girl just now was part-Veela," said the younger redhead with an ogled look still plastered on his face. "How come you weren't affected of her charms?"

"Because," said Bill easily. "My job involves studying all sorts of spells, curses, and even charms that I might encounter during work. It's that simple." When Ron didn't ask any further, he added, "By the way, how are your studies?"

The two talked more until they finally reached Dumbledore's office. Ron decided to wait outside and walk around the area for the meantime. He was looking for something to amuse himself until he heard a grunt from the end of the corridor. Curiosity got the better of him and he slowly made his way to the source.

The closer he was, the more distinctive the noise, the more he came to realize who was talking.

"I know what fair play is all about," came Diggory's voice.

"Of course you are, since you're a Hufflepuff," growled Moody. "I expect you return the favor."

Ron's eyes widened in shock as heard this. Then he remembered that the Defense professor could see through walls with his magical eye. He made a swift turn and walked back to Dumbledore's office as swiftly and silently as possible although he was sure it was pointless.

"There's no point in running, Weasley," Moody's voice echoed from behind and Ron was sure he was limping toward his direction.

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir," lied Ron automatically as he turned around to face him while stilling moving. "I was only walking around since I'm waiting for my brother, he's with the headmaster."

"Don't bothering lying to me, boy. I can see everything with my eye." said Moody with a lopsided grin which didn't make him any less scary while his magical eye whizzed in all directions.

"I'm not, I was just walking around," said Ron firmly, finding a way to get out of this mess. "I've always wondered if that eye of yours can see everyone's underpants," he added, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"You're definitely a Weasley," he growled, closing the gap between him and the Slytherin redhead. "Being able to talk smart even while cornered. Reminded me of your late uncles Fabian and Gideon Prewett - died laughing although fighting against 5 Death Eaters…"

The redhead Slytherin's insides began to clench at the mention of his dead uncles he could barely remember. "You…how did you know that?" he questioned in a barely audible voice.

The Ex-Auror's current expression was rather menacing but before he could say anything, Bill got down from the spiraling staircase with Dumbledore by his side. "Ron, I'm done - oh hello there, Mad-Eye," greeted Bill as he turned to face Moody. "Been teaching the students the way of Constant Vigilance?"

Moody merely grunted. "We can't always expect to be safe. Nowadays, anything can happen. _Constant Vigilance!_" Slowly, he took a different turn until he was out of sight.

Ron let out a relieved sigh. "That was close," he muttered.

"You were saying, Ron?" asked Bill in mild curiosity.

"I didn't say anything, Bill." replied Ron while waving his hand offhandedly.

"Mad-Eye seems to be busy teaching everyone what he knows about fighting against the Dark Arts. I was hoping to ask him how Tonks was doing now."

"I believe Nymphadora is doing quite well as an Auror since she joined the ranks just last year." Dumbledore answered. "Thank you for taking your time coming here, Mr. Weasley. Your insight has been a great help."

"It's no problem, just doing my part." smiled Bill.

Ron felt the headmaster's gaze boring into him and he looked up and gave an awkward grin. _Should I tell him what I just heard?_ He thought idly to himself. _Probably not. It might not be worth telling._ Glancing back to where Moody walked, his only thought was to avoid being alone with him at any cost.

The two redheads went down to the Great Hall where they finally saw their other siblings. All of them chatted together, and ignored everyone else who were looking their way like they were some sort of spectacle. Ron and the others bid their eldest brother at the grounds before heading back inside the castle. With every step, the short conversation he overhead still stuck inside the Slytherin's head. He tried to come up a number of scenarios that would makes sense with what he heard but there wasn't any.

_Eh, I must just be going out of my mind._

* * *

><p>It was the day of the Second Task. Ron was thankful enough that he managed to get through Valentine's Day without any problems (meaning Daphne and her antics). He and the rest of the students walked toward the Black Lake where the Second Task would be held. He sat beside the twins, Ginny, Luna, and much to his frustration, Daphne and Theodore on his other side.<p>

The twins began whistling and cat-calling which Ron deliberately ignored but his ears reddened for a bit. "Oh it's fine, Ronald. There's nothing to be ashamed of." smiled Daphne sweetly, clearly enjoying his embarrassment.

Ron fought the urge to tell her to stuff it.

The champions Viktor Krum, Cedric Diggory, and Fleur Delacour, all who were currently wearing in their swimwear, were standing on the wooden platform as they faced the Black Lake with their wands in their hand. Harry Potter was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Potter?"

"D'you think he got scared and decided not to show up?"

"That can't be right, he did rather good on the First Task. I'd doubt he'd stop."

"What do you think happened to the Golden Boy?" queried Daphne amusedly as she looked around. "Got cold feet at this moment?"

"Don't ask me, I'm not his sidekick or what. You should be asking Longbottom or Hermione." he stopped talking as he noticed neither of the two he mentioned were around. Before he could begin to wonder where those two had gone, Bagman's voice boomed across the area, signalling that the Second Task would begin shortly.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And here's the next chapter!<strong>_

_**Took me at least 3 months to wrap this one up. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to reach the 8-page mark but amazingly I managed to do 10 pages.**_

_**It seems that Fake!Moody is on the move against Ron and Harry. And Ron is getting paranoid by the day especially with the control of his Seer ability. As intended, the potion itself is temporary and will not turn Ron into a Super!Ron that's for sure. It's like steroids if I have to compare it with a Muggle version of medicine. And yes, he doesn't know what he's getting into which I like best.**_

_**In a couple of chapters, year four will come to an end. There are still questions I have yet to decide such as 1. Cedric Diggory's fate 2. Barty Crouch Jr. 3. The outcome of the Triwizard Tournament.**_

_**Let me know your thoughts on this one, alright?**_


	36. Chapter 35

"Welcome everyone!" greeted the former Beater, smiling widely at the crowd before him. "In a few minutes, the Second Task will begin and I'm sure all of you are wondering what it is they're going to do this time!" The crowd cheered loudly in response, causing an already energetic atmosphere to grow bigger.

"Our chosen champions -" He gestured to the three students standing on the wooden platform, "will go down the Black Lake to retrieve the person very important to them within the time limit." Ron noticed that the Beauxbatons champion, Fleur Delacour, paled considerably upon hearing this.

"The one who managed to accomplish this first will have an advantage for the Third Task!" The cheers increased and Bagman grinned wider at the spectacle.

"The Second Task will begin in three - two - one - NOW!"

Both Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour pulled out their wands, pointed it at themselves until a bubble formed around their head. "That's the Bubble-Head Charm," said a sixth year Ravenclaw who sat not far from Ron.

As for Viktor Krum, he did something others didn't expect: he transfigured his head to a shark. The general female student population were shocked to say the least, but the male students were in awe.

"That's bloody brilliant!" shouted a second year, those who heard him seemed to agree.

All three of them jumped in the Black Lake, and the audience rooted for their champion loudly. "And now they're swimming down under…and we have no idea what they're doing." said Ron sarcastically. "Did any of them ever bothered to ask where Potter is?" Since no one answered, he scowled. "I guess minus points for him."

Ten minutes later, Theodore drawled to him, "There's your answer."

Running toward the Black Lake was no other than Harry Potter and there was no doubt that he didn't get much sleep judging with the clothes he was currently wearing which he remembered were the clothes he wore yesterday. "And here's our last champion, Mr. Potter!" roared Bagman in delight, catching everyone's attention. "Time is running out -"

"No need to remind me that!" snapped the Boy-Who-Lived and began to undress, much to everyone's amusement.

"I can't believe he's doing that in public," said Daphne while shaking her head.

"I have no doubt it'll be on the first page of the Daily Prophet," said Ron bemusedly. Only in his shorts, Harry took out a slimy ball which seemed to be a made out up green worms.

_What the bloody hell is -?_ Much to Ron's shock, he and the rest of the crowd saw Harry eat it and dive in the Black Lake, leaving everyone with a lot of questions and a lot of talk about.

"What did he just eat?" asked Ginny in confusion.

"It's Gillyweed," answered Luna dreamily. "Once consumed, it can give you gills and webbed hands and feet. But it can only last for an hour."

"That's good to know but I'd like to remind myself this: They're all under the lake and we can't see them doing anything. This task is stupid."

"Don't complain too much, Ronald," admonished Daphne. "There's the time limit. So the best part is to see who gets to finish the task first. Also, we get to know who their most important person is. It's worth talking about."

"I still think it's stupid," said the redhead Slytherin flatly, crossing his arms.

After fifteen to twenty minutes, one of the champions resurfaced and the crowd began making noise. Ron squinted his eyes and was surprised to see Fleur Delacour but it seemed she was with no one. "Miss Delacour is the first to get back but without the hostage she's supposed to retrieve from the bottom of the lake!" announced Bagman. "That will affect her standing, unfortunately…"

"I need to get back!" panted the Beauxbatons champion as she struggled to dive in the Black Lake; However, the staff were holding her back.

"Champions who got back to the surface without their appointed hostage will not be allowed to continue the task!" informed Bagman to everyone.

"But my sister -" stammered Fleur. Ron, sitting in the stands felt rather sorry for her.

"Please calm yourself down, Miss Delacour," said Madam Pomfrey calmly to her as she wrapped a dry towel around her body. "You will get yourself a cold if you stay longer in the lake -"

"I don't care! Gabrielle -"

"You know, she seemed to care a deal lot for her sister," said Ginny slowly, watching the Beauxbatons champion from afar.

"Yeah, maybe," replied Ron, his focus began to waver as he stared at Fleur and began to admire her wet blonde locks as well as her distraught expression, which for him was amazing nonetheless.

Daphne noticed his behaviour and pinched him on the arm, earning a yelp from him. "You really can't help yourself, Ronald," she huffed.

He scowled at her, rubbing the part of the arm where she pinched him tenderly.

"So, have you had anything lately?" questioned Theodore suddenly as he kept his tone low.

Ron knew he was asking whether or not he got any vision. He glanced around discreetly before shaking his head slightly. "Nothing, but there was something I overheard -" he stopped as soon as he saw Moody stationed at the foot of the stands, looking at menacing as ever. He saw the Defense professor moved his head up to face him, his magical eye momentarily fixated at his direction before whizzing around.

"What?" inquired Daphne.

"N-nothing, it's not worth it I guess." he said hastily, folding his arms and looking away. _I can't seem to do anything with that bloody eye focusing on me like that._

Since Fleur came back, none of the other champions returned for the next thirty minutes until everyone realized that none of the champions made it back within the allotted time limit. "Time is up, ladies and gentlemen! It seems that the champions themselves were having a hard time retrieving their hostages," said Bagman, his wand pointed to his neck. "Of course this will affect their scores -"

Then one of the students shouted and pointed at the lake. "One of them's got back!" The rest of the audience cheered, regardless if from Hogwarts or from Durmstrang.

"The next one to return is no other than - Cedric Diggory!" The noise intensified, and Ron was sure he wasn't the only one who would be having hearing problems for the next few days. "And he's the first one who complete the task!" The students who seemed to be from the Badger House stood up and cheered even more, some stomping their feet while the rest tried to come down from the stands to approach Cedric and congratulate him personally. Hufflepuff head Pomono Sprout ushered them to behave, and they didn't leave the stands, but still let out cheers.

"Who's the one he …oh, of course it had to be her," said Daphne, rolling her eyes.

A portion of the female population began gossiping each other the moment the staff pulled Cho Chang out from the lake. Some of them were shooting glares at the Asian Ravenclaw. "Females are scary," Ron commented.

"You should've known that from the very beginning, Ronniekins," piped up Fred, patting Ron on the head since he was seated just behind him. "We have Mum and she's scary enough."

After Cedric, neither Viktor Krum nor Harry Potter followed until twelve minutes after, Viktor emerged with his transfigured head along with his hostage, "The second to finish the task is Viktor Krum!" said Bagman.

Ron squinted his eyes to see who the Bulgarian Seeker had rescued and was shocked just like the rest of the audience (particularly the admirers of Viktor Krum, and the pure-blooded bigots from the Slytherin House such as Draco Malfoy) that it was Hermione Granger. "I guess there's a lot going on between those two," mused Daphne while eyeing on the two from her seat. "What do you think?" she asked, her question directed at Ron.

"…probably," he answered absentmindedly, his attention laid on the two. Recently, he barely had any time to talk to Hermione due to a number of things he had to focus on, and for some reason he felt rather disappointed in himself for allowing this to happen. _Wait, what? Why am I disappointed?_ _I'm probably upset that I wasn't spending much time with her, just like with Luna and the others. _He had other things to worry about, and he was sure it wouldn't be long until everything he foresaw would happen as he had seen it.

"It's been nearly twenty minutes," spoke Theodore.

"D'you think something happened to him?" asked Ginny in worry to Fred and George. It was obvious she was referring to Harry Potter.

"Possibly but who knows?" mused Fred, then glanced elsewhere.

"We're pretty sure Potter's not in trouble, he could get out of it," added George with a faint steely tone, tilting his head to another direction where Fred was looking at.

Ron found it odd just now that both the twins were a lot more secretive. He had also seen the same expression they wore, even on the Yule Ball now that he thought about it. He looked around his surroundings, trying to find out where their glares seemed to be thrown at and was surprised (and even confused) that it was Bagman who they were focusing on.

Before he could ask, crowds cheered once more as Harry resurfaced along with Neville and a young yet cute blonde girl. "Mr. Potter finally returned to the surface but unfortunately he didn't accomplish the task within the time limit!" announced Bagman loudly to the audience. "And he not only rescued his hostage, he also rescued Ms. Delacour's! That must be the reason why he took his time down under! And now we shall wait for the scores!"

"No wonder he was late," said Daphne amusedly. "I'm surprised why he even bothered taking the other hostage."

"Knowing Potter, he thought it was actually life-threatening and saved the other one thinking she'd die or something," muttered Ron to himself as he remembered his Second Year wherein the Boy-Who-Lived saved Ginny from the so-called Chamber of Secrets even if they were not friends.

Dumbledore strode to the Black Lake as the surface began to disrupt. An ugly-looking man with long greying hair and moustache similar to Dumbledore's stood tall with a spear held in his right hand. The two began to let out screeches and awful tones that irked the others while some were astounded. "He's a mermaid," said Luna dreamily. "They're speaking in Mermish."

"Do you understand what they're saying, Luna?" asked Ginny.

"No," replied Luna. "But I'm about to learn it this coming summer. It would be nice to speak a new language, especially when searching for new creatures underwater."

The Hogwarts headmaster approached the rest of the judges and said cordially, "**A conference before we give the marks, I think**." Then they all began to huddle in hushed whispers.

"So who do you think would be first place in this task?" asked Ginny to her friends.

"Diggory would be first, of course. He got back one minute after the time limit," said George without much thought.

"Then it might be Krum who'll be in second place," said Ron slowly. "Next would be Potter since he got his hostage -"

"And of course, the beautiful part-Veela Fleur Delacour is in last place because she got back without her hostage which is her younger sister," finished Fred.

Before they could even continue the conversation, Bagman's magnified voice boomed across the grounds, causing everyone to go silent. "**Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows...**" nearly everyone from the stands seemingly had held their breaths, waiting for the scores of the champions to be revealed. "Ms. Fleur Delacour, although she displayed excellent use of the Bubble-head Charm, was attacked by Grindylows and failed to retrieve her hostage. She received a total number of twenty-five points!" Everyone clapped their hands to the only female champion, while she looked as if she didn't deserve such a high score.

"To Cedric Diggory, as he was the first one to return with his hostage and showed great use of the Bubble-head Charm as well, we therefore award him forty-seven points!" the Hogwarts students (minus the Slytherins) cheered louder this time and the Hufflepuffs were delighted that Cedric Diggory was given the highest score.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration which was still effective and he was the second champion to get back with his hostage. Because of this, he earned a total of forty points.!" The famous Bulgarian Seeker earned loud cheers, especially coming from his fans and his schoolmates. "And to Harry Potter," paused Bagman, providing more dramatic effect. "He used Gillyweed quite effectively. He was the last champion to return one hour outside the time limit. However," he added, earning more curious looks from the crowd, "Merchieftainess Murcus informed us that he was the first one to arrive at the bottom of the lake, and his cause for delay was due to making sure that all hostages were taken back safety and not of his own."

Ron couldn't help but snort at this. "I knew it," he muttered under breath. From above, Neville and Hermione were seen giving half-exasperated looks from the Boy-Who-Lived who avoided their gaze.

"Most of the judges -" Bagman threw a ugly look at Karkaroff's direction, "felt that he should be given full marks because Mr. Potter showed moral fibre. However, he will be given forty-five points!" On the platform, Neville punched Harry lightly on the side while the other flushed in embarrassment. Harry, on the other hand, looked as if he couldn't believe what he just heard.

"**The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June!**" informed Bagman in delight to everyone. "**The champions will be notified of what is coming for them one month beforehand. Thank you for all of your support of the champions.**"

"Thank Merlin this is over," yawned Ron while stretching his arms. "It's boring compared to the First Task."

"I guess, it would've been better if we were able to see what was happening down there." said Ginny thoughtfully. She stood up, followed by Luna and the twins. "We should go back. It's almost lunchtime. I'm feeling rather hungry to be honest."

All of the Hogwarts students returned to the castle, with the Durmstrang students going inside the ship, and the Beauxbatons to their cabin. The champions were surrounded with reporters, badgering them with questions that were either related to the Second Task or not. Ron came to notice that Fred and George were no longer with him and began to look around. It didn't take long for him to find them due to the trademark Weasley hair and saw them making their way to where Bagman was standing.

_What the bloody hell are they doing?_

"Ronald, what are you looking over?" questioned Daphne, stopping for a moment as she grabbed Theodore by the arm. "It's almost lunchtime."

"Fred and George."

Theodore looked over his shoulder and saw the two, with Bagman trying to get away from the Weasley twins. "Tough luck on them." he said offhandedly.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I've heard from Father that it's wise not to make bets with someone like Ludo Bagman." he said smoothly.

"Why so? He seems to be a jolly one that anyone would like to talk with," thought Daphne. "Except for me, obviously."

"Unless it's about money," said the weedy teen abruptly, staring at the two unblinkingly.

It took a couple of seconds until Ron figured out what Theodore just insinuated. "Bloody hell!" he cursed. He grabbed Theodore by the collar and growled, "Are you telling me -?!"

"He fools everyone who bets by paying them with Leprechaun gold and once the victim finds out, they are unable to get their money back due to a number of 'official' documents provided but is most likely forged, not that everyone knows that," explained Theodore as he managed to make Ron let go and brushed his robes.

"Don't tell me that they betted all of their savings on the World Cup Final?" said Daphne with an eyebrow raised.

"Nah, they bet on a third of their savings but still, they could've used the earnings for expanding their business," shook Ron's head in response.

"What business?"

"Jokeshop," he answered curtly, still irritated. "They planned on making a business that will be more famous than Zonko's or something like that."

"That's ambitious. But considering their calibre," Daphne glanced over the pair, "I suppose they have what it takes to make it into that business." Then she looked as if something came over her: Her eyes gleamed and a smile appeared on her lips. "Say, if they're unable to get their earnings from Bagman, do you think they'd mind if I sponsor them to make their goals realized?" she asked sweetly.

Both Theodore and Ron stared at her. "What?"

Daphne rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "You heard me."

"You want to sponsor their jokeshop? Are you mental?" questioned Ron in disbelief. "Why the bloody hell you want to, huh?"

"Easy," she said in emphasis, "Firstly, there is potential. Secondly, they are quite smart - sure I heard that they only had three OWLs but surely they did it only purpose so that they could have more time to invent prank merchandise. Third, they're popular here at Hogwarts. Even us Slytherins can't deny that bit. And lastly, they are capable of making their business grow and not just here, but I could see it expand beyond England's borders."

"You're really dead set on this?" said the redhead, giving her a strange look.

"Why not? I know my money's not going to be wasted," she shrugged. "Don't worry though, I'll ask someone to represent myself to make the offer. At least I won't have to reveal myself so you can breathe easily, Ronald."

Ron considered her offer. "Fine," he said. "If by the time the Third Task arrives and they haven't got what they need from that old tosser, I'll tell them."

"Great, that ends the conversation. Let's go back," said Theodore in veiled sarcasm. Ron smacked him on the arm in response to which the weedy teen snorted in response. Daphne, who was watching them, shook her head.

* * *

><p>Two weeks later and it was already March. The weather had gone drier and windy and for some students, it wasn't a good time to lounge at the grounds as they would find themselves being whipped by the wind. Ron noticed nearly everyone had their hands on the latest <em>Witch Weekly<em> edition. What was even more noticeable was the coloured photograph of Harry with the title read: **Harry Potter's Secret Heartache**.

He didn't need to read the content of the piece as Daphne was more than willing to tell him as if it was the most important matter in the wizarding world. "That was fast," whistled Ron with a small frown as he glanced the front pages of the magazine while making his way to the Transfiguration classroom.

"What's with that look? Jealous?" mused Daphne as she twirled her hair with a finger without looking at him.

"No," said Ron immediately, glaring at her. "I was just...I don't have to tell you anything." he said stubbornly before slipping into the nearest seat once they got inside the classroom. "It's nothing."

"You need to loosen up," Daphne replied, setting her bag beside and taking out her Transfiguration book out. "Whatever it is you're thinking about with those two, you shouldn't thinking about it too much. They're old enough to know and decide what they wanted to do."

The redhead shot his head up and an ugly shade of red spread across his face. "W-what in Merlin's stinking ragged knickers are you talking about?"

Daphne looked at him and covered her mouth to resist herself from laughing. "Look at yourself, haven't you thought of that?"

"T-that's not something I think about!" said Ron heatedly. Daphne shook her head and sat down before she took out her quill and ink pot from her bag.

"And what is that supposed to mean, Mr. Weasley?"

"I don't have the time of day to think something like shagging or -!" he stopped after he realized who questioned him. His blushed became deeper as he came face to face with Professor McGonagall who didn't seem very pleased with his outburst. "Professor!"

"I'd rather prefer if you express that train of thought outside the classroom, Mr. Weasley," said the Transfiguration professor sternly. The other students, the Ravenclaws and his fellow Slytherin housemates, snickered at his misfortune. "Ten points will be deducted from Slytherin -" the Slytherin students scowled at this, "- now do sit and behave."

"Yes ma'am." mumbled Ron, his ears red as he avoided everyone's gaze.

After an hour of lecture, Ron was the first to flee from the scene, pushing the students who were in his way, and ran as much as his long legs would take him until he ran out of breath.

"Damn that Daphne." he panted while leaning against the wall. He was downright embarrassed with what happened earlier in class and he hoped it would be the last. Her words irked him and thinking about it made him blush even more. He remembered summer last year after he got Daphne's letter; he was forced to have a very embarrassing conversation between himself and his parents referred to as the 'The Talk'.

He shuddered and blamed Daphne for his misfortune. While muttering curses and thinking of ways to get back at his female Housemate, someone walked on him and called him out. "Ron?"

The Slytherin redhead looked up and stared. "Mione?"

Hermione gave him a curious look. "What are you doing out here?"

He continued to stare at her, Daphne's words still stuck in his head. "You're not going to do anything funny with him, right?" he said heatedly, earning a surprised reaction from her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well come on, he invited you this coming summer but I'm sure you're not that kind of person who'd do it -" rambled Ron, not hearing her. "- but he's a famous Quidditch player so I guess I can't blame you, but then again it wouldn't be right -"

Hermione seemed to catch on what he was sprouting from his mouth and blushed. "Ronald Weasley! I'm not that kind of person who'd do such a thing at this age!" she scolded him. "What made you think of me that way?"

Ron flustered under her hard gaze. "It's not like I'm the only one, the stupid magazine -" he muttered lowly while scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, you read it from _Witch Weekly_?" she frowned.

"I didn't read it! Daphne keeps on talking about it." he said defensively.

"So the both of you are calling on a first name basis now?"

"That's beside the point!" he said. "So, is it true?"

Hermione snorted at him. "You sounded like those gossipers. Do you really want to know?"

He shrugged but he couldn't deny he was curious. "If you want to."

She considered for a moment, looking at him shrewdly, and sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you but promise me you won't tell it to the others." Seeing Ron nod vigorously, she continued, "Yes, he did invite me to visit his home this coming summer. But…" she emphasized on the word, stopping him from interrupting, "I declined."

"Why? A lot of girls would _kill_ to be on your shoes," he said.

"I'd prefer if my parents got to know him first before I visited his place," explained Hermione simply. "I don't think they'll be pleased if I accepted his invitation without their approval and also the fact that they don't know him personally."

Ron thought of her response and nodded slowly. "That makes sense. That's great to hear."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Thanks for worrying about me, but it's fine. I'm capable of taking care of myself."

"I don't doubt about that," he said quickly. "I'm just looking out for you as a friend."

"Uh-huh," she mused, crossing her arms and giving him a look to which he grinned sheepishly back in response. "We should get to our next class. Double Potions?"

"Yep, with Snape," he offered his arm to her which she accepted by linking hers and both walked together to the dungeons. "Sorry." he apologized, feeling somewhat ashamed. "I didn't mean to sound nosy or anything."

"It's all right, at least your reasoning was better than my roommates," she sighed.

"And Potter and Longbottom?" he inquired.

"They didn't say anything much," she answered. "I suppose they don't want to ask. To give me privacy."

Ron's ears turned red once more. "I guess I should've done that as well."

"Stop apologizing," said Hermione with a small smile. "And we're here."

The two lowered their arms but Hermione's hand brushed over Ron's, and this caused Ron to suddenly earn himself a vision.

_"Where did you put the Horcrux?" questioned an older Harry to an older Hermione. Both were dishevelled and had bruises on parts of their body. They were inside a tent Ron was greatly reminded of Mr. Perkin's. Ron was particularly curious about the word 'Horcrux' that was uttered and hearing it made his skin crawl for some reason._

_"In my bag. I think we should keep it off for a while," answered Hermione with a worried look on her face._

_Harry lied on the bunk bed and turned to face her. "We shouldn't have gone to Godric's Hollow. It's my fault, it's all my fault, Hermione, I'm sorry." he apologized gravely._

_She shook her head slightly. "Yeah, well...we got that wrong, didn't we?" _

The vision faded and Ron blinked a couple of times to finally realize it was gone. "Ron?" inquired Hermione with a frown.

"Hey Weasley, you're blocking the way," Blaise's irritating voice was heard from behind.

"Shut it, Zabini." He pushed the door open to get inside the classroom. _Wrong timing, I guess_, he thought to himself as he went to the right back side of the classroom, with Theodore and Daphne already settled with their Potion kit. He sent a short nod to Hermione's direction who returned a small smile before turning away.

"Where did you run off, Ronald?" questioned Daphne. gaining his attention. "You were almost late. Snape wouldn't be pleased."

"I'm here, alright?" he scowled before facing Theodore. "I need to ask you about something."

"What?" Theodore asked without sparing a glance.

"I need to know what a Horcux is."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Here is another chapter! <strong>_

_**I guess Ron is taking the lead in search of the truth instead of Harry. Actually, I didn't expect this would end up because I had another thing in mind. But of course, that can be arranged in the next chapter. I had to use a part of the chapter Bathilda's Secret of the Deathly Hallows (page 347) since there's no Ron in it. In three to four chapters, it'll be the Third Task so I think...fourth year will end in 7 to 8 chapters and then we can go to the more interesting parts of the series. Or fourth year will end in 6 chapters, who knows? **_

_**So, since we're nearing the climax what will be the fate of Cedric Diggory? Will he live or die? Both events will have good outcomes in my opinion. The problem is that I don't have that much attachment for the Hufflepuff, to be honest so I'm unsure. **_

_**By the way, I bought a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard and it was awesome! I love the reading the thoughts of Dumbledore from each story and I've learned some new facts haha. I just wished I have the other two books (Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) just so I could read them numerous times and expand my HP collection (it's hard to find HP collectible items from where I'm living. Online purchase is not an option, I'm afraid).**_

_**Reviews are definitely welcome.**_


	37. Chapter 36

Theodore looked at him in mild surprise as soon as he heard what Ron said. "How -?"

The door opened with a loud bang, surprising everyone. Snape strode inside the classroom, his robes billowing behind him as he swept a glare across everyone. "Silence. We are about to begin our lesson for the day," he said with a low hiss. Everyone could tell he was in a foul mood and so they fell silent to avoid his wrath.

The weedy Slytherin shot Ron a look and said with his lips barely moving, "_We'll talk later_."

Daphne watched the two, her eyebrows knitted together in a frown but resisted saying anything.

It was a slow two-hour lesson. Ron couldn't help but look over his shoulder as if someone was giving him a watchful gaze or glare. He was uncomfortable with what he was feeling, and Theodore's reaction to his question gave him a sense of curiosity, so much so that he nearly destroyed the potion he was making until Daphne stopped him from earning the Potion Master's ire.

Just halfway through the lesson, there was a knock on the dungeon door. "Enter," said Snape in his silky voice.

The whole class looked back to see who came in. It was Professor Karkaroff. Everyone, most especially Harry, watched him in mutedly as the Durmstrang headmaster approached the Potion Master's desk. Ron, Theodore, and Daphne shared a look, wondering what it was all about. Ron strained his ears to listen closely to the conversation while picking up a measuring cup to fill it with armadillo bile. "...to talk now, while you can't slip off, Severus. You've been avoiding me." The redhead Slytherin was surprised to note that the two adults seemed to have known each other.

He saw Snape gave him a warning glare and snapped under his breath, "After the lesson."

Karkaroff didn't leave the dungeon; he stood behind Snape's desk for the remaining time of the period. Snape looked mutinous to this. Five minutes before the end of the class, Snape gave a final command, "Everyone, bring your sample in front before you leave. Homework: Explain the many uses of Dittany and enumerate its pros and cons. Two parchments." Nearly everyone grumbled at the announcement but none protested.

"Mr. Weasley, stay behind. Wait just outside the classroom until I call you."

Ron, Theodore, and Daphne looked at their Potions Master then to each other. "What did you do this time, Ronald?" questioned Daphne.

"What makes you think I did something?" he hissed defensively.

Theodore gave the two a silenced look. "Meet up at the usual place. Let's go." He motioned Daphne and left the classroom together.

As the students began to leave the classroom, Ron was beginning to wonder what he did to get Snape's attention. He was the second to the last student to leave, glancing to his right side and saw Harry bent down behind his cauldron to clean the spilt armadillo bile. He wanted to know what the two were going to discuss while he waited just outside, but with less than a minute, he heard Snape shouting, "Potter! What are you doing?"

He didn't hear what Harry responded and saw the door swung open with Karkaroff leaving with a worried and angry look on his face, followed by Harry who sped out as fast as he could. Ron wondered whether or not it was a good time to go in and just when he was about to knock, he heard Snape ordering him to come inside.

As he got in, Snape closed the door and pulled out his wand, muttering a spell before hiding it in his robes and returning to his desk. Wordlessly, the redhead Slytherin approached him with hesitation while carrying his bag.

"Sit." said Snape curtly, indicating the stool near the desk.

Ron sat down and waited.

"I did not call you because you were in trouble, Mr. Weasley," stated the Potions professor. Seeing the redhead let out a sigh, he continued. "However, your Defense Professor-" he sneered at the mention of Moody, "seems to be very...focused on you recently. Care to explain?"

"I don't know, sir," answered Ron truthfully. However, he remembered the time wherein he overheard something between him and Cedric Diggory. _Should I tell him?_ He hadn't informed Dumbledore about it because he thought it didn't make much sense no matter what he could think of, however he couldn't help but keep away from the Ex-Auror. After a moment he answered, "I don't think I did anything against anything that might offend him, Professor."

"Is there anything you are not telling me?" questioned Snape, his eyes boring on him.

"No, sir."

"Very well. You may leave."

As the redhead Slytherin stood up and made his way to the door, he heard Snape telling him, "I will advise you to avoid being alone with Alastor Moody. Do I make myself clear?"

Ron looked back and nodded once. "Yes, sir."

* * *

><p>Daphne greeted Ron with a question. "What did Snape want from you?" The redhead, who just arrived at their secret meeting room, scowled at her for not giving him a break. "Well? Aren't you going to answer?"<p>

"He asked me whether I did something to get Mad-Eye's attention," Ron muttered before sitting down on the sofa to rest.

"Are you not telling us something?" frowned Theodore.

Ron looked at him and sighed. "I do have the intention but Moody's been giving me this look and I haven't been able to find a good time to say it, mind you. His eye is a menace." He then told the two what he overheard and also the time when he overheard another voice coming out from the ex-Auror's office. "What do you think?"

"That does sound suspicious." pondered Daphne.

"You didn't get to hear the rest of their conversation?" questioned the weedy teen.

"I would've but in case you forgot, he had that bloody eye which can see through walls. I have to look out for my own skin too in case you've forgotten."

Daphne stared at the two and a look of realization dawned on her face. "Hey you two, what if Moody was helping Diggory with the Triwizard Tournament?" She earned looks of disbelief coming from the two and rolled her eyes at them. "It makes sense, after all. You can't deny there's going to be cheating happening amongst the champions."

"Fair point, but there's this one thing." said Ron flatly. "Diggory's a Hufflepuff. He's a goody-two shoes. He wouldn't cheat -"

"But he could help the other champions, especially a fellow Hogwarts champion," interrupted Daphne with a glint in her eyes. "Hufflepuffs are all about fair play. Everyone knows that."

"I dunno." snorted the redhead. "Even if Diggory was lending a hand, why-?"

"Because he got help beforehand and he's returning the favour," said Theodore.

"You mean…Potter helped Diggory in the First Task?" concluded Ron sceptically. "Really?"

"How did you think all of them did so well in the First Task, hm?" pointed out Daphne, crossing her legs and leaning back comfortably. "From what I remember, they seemed awfully well-composed facing a fully-grown dragon."

Ron didn't reply and began to get lost in his thoughts. He couldn't deny that there would be cheating involved with the tournament itself and yet it was still absurd to hear that someone like Diggory and Potter would get help just to get through each task. But thinking about the vague conversation between the Hufflepuff champion and Moody, it did make sense if he tried to think like Daphne and Theodore. He had to wonder what the point of it all was and nothing seemed to click. "I still don't get it." grumbled the redhead, scratching his head.

"What? But it does make sense."

"Yeah, it does but what for?" questioned Ron to the two as he began to pace around the room. "What's the point of helping each other? Is it for the Hogwarts prestige? And why would Moody even think of asking Diggory to return the favour? It's everyone's game and advantage!"

"There is that," she conceded with a frown, slumping further on the sofa. "Why would an Auror – even a mad one- be encouraging cheating? I'm pretty sure he'd be against it."

"I don't have the answer for that," shrugged Theodore after listening to the two.

"But who cares anyway? If either Potter or Diggory wins, it's still a Hogwarts victory." she said suddenly. "Although there is that weird thing with Moody watching you closely. Maybe he didn't want you to let it slip to anyone like Dumbledore. He's still a Hogwarts alumnus, so I guess he still wanted this school to win the tournament."

"Yeah, I guess." said Ron thoughtfully. "But I'll take Snape's advice to avoid him at all cost. By the way, weren't you curious that both he and Karkaroff seemed to know each other?"

A small smirk flashed across Theodore's face. "That's because Karkaroff was a Death Eater."

Both Ron and Daphne shot him a startled look. "Really? He's a Death Eater?" repeated the blonde Slytherin girl.

"He was."

"And you didn't even bother mentioning this to us beforehand?" said Ron testily, shooting an annoyed look at the weedy teen.

"I'm not obliged to tell you everything I know unless you asked," he told him coolly, crossing his arms slowly. "But I do have an idea what they're talking about."

"Tell us, then," said Ron, paying full attention to him. So did Daphne.

"It was about their Dark Mark getting darker and more noticeable," he said to them. "Father sent me a note recently about keeping an eye on any changes. Surely it's coming sooner than we imagined."

"What is?"

"The Dark Lord's return."

Ron was stunned. He knew the most feared wizard would be but he didn't expected it would happen this year. "Are you sure, Nott?" he questioned, steadying his voice as the thought made his spine crawl.

"Yes, it's usually a good indication," nodded Theodore. "The three of us knew what were had done last year. It's going to happen."

Daphne pursed her lips. "And here I thought it would happen sometime in our Sixth year. At least we could've been more prepared than we are right now." She paced around the room, biting her bottom lip with her eyebrows creased into a frown. "We'll just have to anticipate it and take the next step."

Theodore nodded in approval toward her words. He turned to stare at Ron and said suddenly, "Since that is settled, let's talk about what you said earlier."

Ron nodded once as he turned to face him. "I know. You gave me that look so I'm guessing you know something."

"Where did you hear it?" questioned Theodore sharply. "Only very few people are aware of the word itself."

"I got a vision from Hermione just before Potions. It seems like in the future, she and Potter got one. So what's the big deal about a Horcrux?" he told them.

"The thing about that," Theo began, Ron sensed a bit of annoyance in his tone, "is there is very little information about it."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Daphne, confused.

"We have a vast collection of dark magic books here in England, and yet only a few of them would mention the word Horcux." stated Theodore with a slight edge in his voice. "Obviously the writers didn't want anyone to really know anything about the Horcrux. Usually, the less information the more dangerous the subject really is."

"What do you know so far about this...dark object or magic?" probed Ron as his curiosity began to expand.

"That it is very dark and dangerous, no one should even dare find out."

"Well, that's useful," said Daphne sarcastically, rolling her eyes upon hearing his response. "Why even bother mentioning it in the first place?"

"Search me." shrugged Theodore. "Anyway, are you going to tell this to Dumbledore?"

His question made Ron stare at him in surprise but stopped to think. "I guess so. What do you think?"

"Honestly speaking, he might have more information with regard to the Horcrux. But that doesn't mean we're not going to search for the answer ourselves," stated the blonde Slytherin girl before Theodore could even let out a word. She had her arms on her hips and was standing in front of him.

"So how we're going to find out?"

"We'll just have to ask someone to find out for us," said Theodore with a shrug.

"Who?" asked Ron and Daphne in unison.

"He's shifty and hardly trustworthy, but he'll do anything just for a couple of Galleons," smirked the weedy teen.

They left the room right after, discussing about other matters before they reached the Great Hall where students were filling up the seats for lunch. Ron took the seat the edge of the table and began wolfing down on the food nearest to him, ignoring the rest. Daphne sat down with the rest of the Slytherin girls of her year and talked with them amicably on today's events and gossip. Theodore took a nearby seat with no one sitting beside and minded his own business. It was a normal day for the three.

* * *

><p>A couple of days later, Ron stood in front of the headmaster's office on a Saturday afternoon. He really didn't want to since his visions were his to keep and to do whatever he wanted, but he knew he had to stick to his deal. Sighing, he began to roll off all the sweets he knew until the stone gargoyles opened for him.<p>

_Peppermint Humbugs, huh._

Ron made his way up while thinking this would be the first time he's been here the whole school year. He raised his hand to knock on the door when he heard the Headmaster's voice.

"Come in."

He entered the office and saw the benevolent-looking wizard inside.

"Mr. Weasley, I was wondering when you'd visit me," greeted Dumbledore behind his desk.

The Slytherin redhead glanced around, noticing the snoozing previous headmasters from their portraits which he suspiciously believed were just pretending to be asleep. "Hello sir," he nodded as he took a seat.

"Lemon drop?"

Ron took a piece and popped it inside his mouth, savouring its sweet and sour flavour. "I would like to ask something from you, sir. If you don't mind, that is."

"And what it is about?" the older wizard responded, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Do you have an idea what a Horcux is?"

The twinkle from the headmaster's eyes vanished and a serious expression appeared on the older wizard's face.

"Where did you learn of that word, Mr. Weasley?" his eyebrows furrowed slightly and he continued. "Did you happen to hear from one of your visions?"

"Yes," he answered although he didn't mention the vision he'd had. "Is it dangerous?"

"More than you can ever imagine," said Dumbledore gravely.

"How so?"

"It would be best if you would forget of it."

Suddenly, Ron's blood began to boil. "You made me swear that I'd let you know anything related to the war based on my assumption and intuition, things that might happen anytime soon in the future and you're telling me that I should forget what I saw? That's a load of Hippogriff dung!" he said angrily, standing up from his seat and disturbing the previous Hogwarts headmaster's slumber. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was him being treated like a child. "Just because I'm not of age doesn't mean you can't treat me like I'm incapable of understanding how serious things may become! I've already seen things that I shouldn't have so don't even think of treating me that way!"

"How rude!" said one of the portraits, someone with a pointy long beard that reached down to his stomach. "No student should disrespect the Headmaster! If I were-"

"That's enough Amrose," said Dumbledore to pacify the portrait while closing his eyes tiredly. "Mr. Weasley, I am sure you are aware by what little information you have gathered that it is a very dangerous dark magic that no one, even dark wizards themselves, should even dwell on."

"I know but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't find out," retorted Ron. "Do I look like someone who's mad enough to even try anything dark magic related? Mum would kill me first before that happens." He could make out a faintest chuckle from the older wizard after he blurted out his thoughts. "Anyway, you've already told me as much about Potter's reason for staying with his Muggle relatives. Whatever this Horcrux is, I can handle it."

"Are you certain of that, Mr. Weasley?"

"I wouldn't be here asking if I wasn't, Professor. And I'm surrounded with a bunch of junior Death Eaters," he added as he thought of Draco and Theodore. "I'm sure I can take whatever it is you're going to tell me."

Dumbledore watched him, studied him and replied, "Very well. Please do sit." When Ron went back to his seat, he asked, "Have you heard of Herpo the Foul?"

"Er," thought Ron when asked. "Wasn't he the first wizard to hatch a Basilisk?"

The headmaster nodded. "You are correct. He was also a Parselmouth, therefore he was an ancestor of Salazar Slytherin."

Ron crinkled his nose, remembering his second year. "Should've know that. They were the only ones who could control a Basilisk. But what's he got to do with -?"

A thought came across his mind, like he was hit by a dozen spells. "He discovered a Horcux?"

"In a sense, however he created one during his time as far as records indicated," stated Dumbledore but his face was still grave. "Now, I shall tell you what they are but it is of utmost importance that no one should ever know what we have discussed. Do you understand?"

Ron had a feeling whatever he would hear, it was probably more important than the blood wards casted for Potter. "I won't tell, sir." he swore. He did promise Theodore and Daphne that he would let them know what he could get from Dumbledore but he couldn't break his word to the elder wizard. But then again, they knew more about dark magic than him and were going to find out on their way no matter what he did.

"A Horcrux," began the older wizard, "is a powerful object created by a Dark wizard or witch; as you are now aware, Herpo the Foul was the first to create such a dark object. Very little information was written about it, even in _Magicke Moste Evile_, because no one really detailed the effects on those who attempted to create it."

"But were there any books about how to make one?" asked Ron curiously.

"There was a book from the library that detailed the instructions," nodded Dumbledore. "But it was removed once I became Headmaster," Sighing, he continued, "Now, a Horcrux is not just any dark object. It is one of the darkest arts in existence. The instructions for creating one is, in my own personal opinion, atrocious. It is created when a part of one's soul is concealed in any object. Therefore, if for example the creator was killed or his or her own body was destroyed beyond repair, the creator will still be alive as long as a part of the soul encased in the object remains undamaged."

Ron stared at him, trying to process what he just heard. "Er what?" he responded blankly. "Split a soul?"

"Yes, a Horcrux a made from a part of a wizard's soul. A Muggle is not capable of creating such an object."

"But that's not possible!" said Ron, his voice rising higher than usual. "You can't split a soul! It -"

"- is possible. As we've already discussed, Herpo the Foul was the first wizard to create one."

"But Potter -"

"The vision was about Mr. Potter?" inquired Dumbledore calmly but his eyes were alert.

"I - yes, and Hermione," answered Ron. "In the vision, they were inside a tent. It didn't look like they were on a holiday, though. They came back from Godric's Hollow and they talked as if going there was a mistake."

Dumbledore wore an unreadable expression on his face and placed his hands together in front of his lips, almost like he was in prayer. "I see. It seems that things have changed from what I imagined." Seeing Ron's curious look, he said to him, "Mr. Weasley, the splitting of the soul is possible but creating it is certainly fatal. Nearly every wizard who may have attempted in creating one died in the process."

"But how does one split a soul to make a Horcrux? And whose Horcrux Potter and Hermione were holding? Do they have it now?"

"I do not believe that Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger are in possession as of this time. We can only assume whose Horcrux they would be referring to in the future." Ron had a feeling that Dumbledore wasn't telling him everything but decided not to press any further. "As for your first question, a soul is split when a wizard has committed an act of evil. Please be aware that the act of splitting a soul is a clear violation of nature. It is a taboo." He sighed deeply and went on, "When you commit the supreme act of evil, then the soul is split and the wizard is able to encase a part of his soul to an object."

Ron frowned at the explanation. "What is the 'supreme act of evil'?" he questioned but he was actually dreading the answer.

"By murder."

He felt the bile rising from his stomach and he was beginning to feel sick. Ron could never imagine killing anyone in cold blood just to make something like that, all for the sake of avoiding death.

Watching Ron's reaction, Dumbledore said, "Of course, a spell has to be cast before placing the portion of the soul inside the object. Once complete, the creator can include a number of curses and spells to protect the Horcrux from being destroyed. Do you understand why no one should ever find out about this?"

"I - I understand," griped Ron, trying to shake off his nerves. Then, a thought came across to his mind, something that made it all make sense to him. "Is it because of the Horcrux that You-Know-Who wasn't destroyed completely when he went to the Potters on that night?"

"Ten points to Slytherin." smiled the headmaster. "I do have a theory that Voldemort-" Ron flinched, "-may have created more than one Horcrux in order to keep himself from dying."

"More than one?" repeated the redhead, his eyes wide. The thought of having more than one Horcrux made him sicker than before.

"I have a theory. He is very bent on not dying so it makes sense for him to make more than one Horcrux," he said thoughtfully.

Silence filled the room and it gave Ron some time to think about everything. With the Horcrux, any wizard capable of doing murder could be harder to get rid of, but of course creating one was fatal itself as he was told. And yet someone like You-Know-Who succeeded in creating possibly more than one Horcrux...it sounded as if defeating the Dark Lord was more difficult than ever and it made him regret letting Pettigrew go. And yet, he faintly remembered the words that Fate said to him that You-Know-Who would die eventually and that very thought gave him hope.

"So how is You-Know-Who going to be defeated?" asked Ron.

"There are two ways," said Dumbledore. "The first way is to find the Horcruxes and destroy them. Once all of the Horcruxes are gone, then Voldemort-" Ron flinched once more, "-will become mortal, thus anyone capable of surpassing his skills can defeat him ultimately."

"The second way?"

"Remorse. He should be able to feel remorse for all of the actions he committed. Only then his soul will become whole once more but possibly the process would be painful as making a Horcrux in the first place."

Ron snorted at this. "I really don't think someone like him would be capable to feeling remorse after all he did." Taking another Lemon Drop, he popped it inside his mouth. Another question appeared in his mind and asked, "Have you tried looking for them?"

"Not at the moment I'm afraid," shook the headmaster's head. "With the Triwizard Tournament and with Mr. Potter competing, I do not have enough time to search for it, much less even do research. But as soon as this is over, I'll be able to start."

"Have you already said anything to Potter?"

"No. I feel as if this kind of information is something he is not ready to learn. But he will, when the time is right."

Ron stood up, deciding that he got all the information he needed to know about the dark object. "Thank you for telling me all of this, Professor."

"Thank you as well for telling me what you have foresaw," responded Dumbledore as the twinkle returned to his eyes. "It is of great help. Now run along now, it is almost dinnertime."

"Will do sir." As he opened the door, he turned back to face the headmaster and said, "You know Professor, you ought to tell Potter about the Horcruxes soon. After all, he's the Boy-Who-Lived. And if I don't like being treated like a child then I'm sure he doesn't either." And with that, he left the office.

* * *

><p>Life went on as usual at Hogwarts. Since the date of the Third task was already announced, nearly everyone had to cram their studies since the examinations were moved a week earlier before the Third Task. Ron didn't forget to spend more time with Damon and the two played at the grounds, earning watchful and curious looks from the passerby's. After the meeting with Dumbledore, Ron was cornered by Daphne and Theodore into questioning whether or not the headmaster had told him anything useful. Unfortunately he lied, only telling them that Dumbledore didn't make any mention of it and was told to not find out, which made Theodore and Daphne more determined to get the answer themselves.<p>

Other than searching for more information about the dark object, they poured over books to review their lessons for the examinations, Once in a while, he was with Daphne and Theodore in the secret meeting room creating a mess after each session of spell casting and reading.

One particular lesson they were intent on passing was throwing off the Imperius Curse; they were sure it would be included in the practical examinations held by Moody. Theodore was the only one who could throw off the curse without any real difficulty. On the other hand, both Daphne and Ron were having a hard time but they were improving greatly unlike their classmates.

"I - still - can't -" panted Ron, benting over with his hands on his knees as he tried to keep standing.

"You need to concentrate," informed Theodore, still holding his wand. He was the one who would cast the curse on them as he was very well-versed and was quite accomplished in using it.

"I am," growled the redhead. "It's just hard -"

"No," he disagreed. "You are distracted, that's why you can't throw it off." He turned to Daphne, who was currently sitting on the sofa with a drained look. "You're almost there. Just focus on your own thoughts and you'll be able to keep yourself from being controlled."

Hearing this made Ron even angrier with himself.

As if he heard his thoughts, Theodore said to him, "It's not because you're weak-minded, Weasley. You need to clear your mind first and keep a level head. You're clearly putting too much burden on yourself for no reason."

"How the bloody hell am I going to 'clear my mind' if there's so much to do?" demanded Ron, glaring at him.

Daphne watched him and made a suggestion: "Why not practice Occlumency?"

Ron's rising irritation seemingly vanished and gave her a look. "Occlu-what?"

"Occlumency," she repeated while rolling her eyes, finally standing up and picking up her wand. "It's a branch of magic wherein you are able to close your mind, preventing anyone from seeing your thoughts and emotions, especially those who are accomplished Legilimens. I read it in a book that my father has in his study room."

Ron looked at her in confusion. "And Legilimens is?"

"Legilimens are those who are experts in the art of Legilimency, the opposite of Occlumency. Anyone who can do this can probe anyone's thoughts, even passively." explained Theodore. "The Dark Lord, for example, was considered the best Legilimens in Britain. It was one of the reasons why he was feared by many. Of course, we can assume that Dumbledore is also an accomplished Legilimens. Learning this is very helpful in duelling since you'll be able to determine the next thing your opponent would be doing. Of course, unless you are faced with an equally experienced Occlumens."

Ron had a sinking feeling Snape would be one of the Legilimens with the way his eyes pierced into anyone he laid his dark eyes on. "So, this...Occlumency, would this help me clear my mind?" he asked slowly the two, doubt clearly in his voice.

"It's your safest bet," answered Theodore. "Especially since you're a Seer."

"Which is why you need to start focusing," said Daphne. "None of us are capable of doing Legilimency, so it's best to start doing the basics, which is meditating. I'll ask father to send over the book about Occlumency to lend you for a bit of reading. It might even do you good."

"Thanks." Ron may not have sounded it, but he was grateful nonetheless.

The three continued practising with their spell casting, everthing ranging from Transfiguration to Charms until they reached their limit. They returned to their common room to rest and Ron, after taking a quick shower, went to his bed and pulled the curtains to cover himself from view.

_Better do it now than later I suppose_, he figured while in an Indian-sit. He took a deep breath and began to clear his mind, shutting out the noises from outside his bed.

It was a tedious and boring process. He was having a hard time keeping his mind from drifting away, and it was harder to stay still. Ron was fighting a losing battle after ten minutes until he lied flat on the bed and sighed in frustration, messing his hair with his hands. "I hate doing nothing," he grumbled to himself before deciding to sleep.

* * *

><p>The Easter Holidays arrived and it was becoming more frustrating for Ron. His meditation sessions were little to no help in his attempt of improving his Occlumency and eventually his resistance against the Imperius Curse, although he was still doubtful of the said mind arts even with the book he borrowed from Daphne: it was too boring to read and the first two chapters were the same old about clearing the mind, keeping the emotions under control, and making the mind complex which didn't make much sense to him.<p>

Theodore still hadn't got any information about Horcruxes from his reliable source, and Daphne hadn't informed them of any update with regard to the magic-enhancement potion.

Ron went to the Great Hall, hoping there would be bacon for breakfast, and before he could sit Ginny and the twins were calling him from the Gryffindor table. Curious, he walked over to where they were and found himself holding a large decorated egg.

"Happy Easter!" greeted Ginny, scooting aside to give him space to seat. This earned weird looks and scowls from the older Gryffindors. The twins shot them a warning look and grinned mischievously, as if daring them to say anything against Ron to which none of them did. "Mum sent them," She gestured toward poor Errol who was being offered to drink pumpkin juice from the goblet by George. "And here's another one." She pushed a medium-sized chocolate egg to him.

"Hey, why's he getting an extra one?" questioned Fred, raising an eyebrow at the egg.

"It's not for him," the Weasley girl said matter-of-factly. "It's for _Daphne Greengrass_."

The twins wore teasing smirks and directed it at Ron whose face turned red. "Oh, it's for the pretty little Greengrass that Ickle Ronniekinns secretly fancies." said Fred in his oily tone.

"It must be nice for Ronnie to get help from Mum," sighed George wistfully.

"Oh shut it, you two!" Ron unwrapped his chocolate egg and took a large bite, closing his eyes and enjoying his mother's creation. "Hogwarts food doesn't even compare to Mum's cooking."

"Isn't that true?"

Ginny pushed away the plate after eating and stood up. "Where are you going?" asked Ron.

"I'll just go to the Ravenclaw table and give this egg to Luna." she chirped before setting off.

Ron glanced over to where the Ravenclaws were sitting and saw Luna sitting by the edge of the table with no one to sitting beside her. Frowning, he swallowed the piece of bacon and made his way there. "Morning Luna." he greeted as he seated beside her.

"Good morning Ron, the Wrackspurts are fewer than they were a few weeks ago." said Luna dreamily, twirling the fork like a baton. "Sorry if I couldn't approach you back then. I didn't think it was wise."

He didn't understand what she said but then again, he guessed everything she said made sense in her mind. "I was…er…busy. Sorry I didn't spend some time with you." he said sheepishly.

"It's fine," said the peculiar Ravenclaw. "I was-"

"Ronald, there you are!"

Daphne jogged toward his direction and in Ron's opinion, it was as if she was frolicking gracefully in the meadows like some carefree Muggle girl he saw on a Muggle magazine Dad had brought home last summer.

Ron had to control his flush from appearing on his face as the students nearby gave him odd looks, especially from Ginny whose eyebrows were raised. Luna was busy humming an unrecognizable tune, still twirling the fork in her hand. "What the bloody hell are you -?" he began but Daphne took his arm and pulled him from his seat.

"This is important," she whispered to him as she closed in. She pulled away and gave a wide smile to his younger sister and added, "I'm sorry Ginevra -"

"It's Ginny," corrected the youngest Weasley automatically.

"- I'll be borrowing your dearest brother for a moment." she continued, ignoring the fact that Ginny was being rude by interrupting her. "Let's go Ronald." She dragged him away from the Great Hall, with the twins making loud teasing remarks at their younger brother and Ginny watching him with an amused expression.

Only a few feet away from the door, Ron yanked his arm and shot a glare at her. "What on Merlin's filthy, vintage diapers are you-?!"

"The potion's complete," breathed Daphne, fully capturing Ron's attention. "Our senior Potioneer got it finished just two days ago and according to the instructions, it had to be cooled for twenty-hours before storing it away."

"Where is it?"

"It's with Theodore. I asked him to hold it while I fetch you. He's supposed to be in the secret meeting room." she told him in hushed tones but her eyes showed excitement and worry.

"Well, what are we doing standing here?" said Ron as he began to pick up his pace and headed to the fourth floor. He couldn't believe that the potion was already finished and he couldn't wait to use it. He knew that the potion shouldn't be used so lightly and asking for another batch was not a good idea, so he had to make the best of it.

As he finally got through the secret entrance, he heard Theodore, "About time."

Daphne appeared just right after him, "You shouldn't be too hasty…"

"Daphne told me you have it." said the redhead Slytherin without wasting any more time.

"Here." the weedy teen tossed the small bottle to Ron, who caught it and stood up from the sofa. "So, when are you going it?" he questioned.

"I dunno," he answered honestly, raising the bottle above and gazed at its blood-red liquid colour from the inside. "But I'll be keeping it close to me just in case I need it."

"In case of what?" inquired Daphne.

"That…" paused Ron, looking at the two. "…is something I will find out for myself."

* * *

><p><em><strong>And now I have to finish it here for the meantime.<strong>_

_**By the way, after the Beedle book. I finally bought the HP Companion books Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I haven't exactly read them thoroughly, but both were just awesome. Now I'll just have to wait for the illustrated version of the Harry Potter series because it's a rare to find them from where I live (I have to reserve it dammit xD).**_

_**And so I shall end my post. Please leave a review if you like. And I would like to say thank you to the loyal readers who stuck reading with this. **_

_**The last scene is dated roughly 16 April 1995.**_


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